Je Pleure is a fashion brand established by Jack King. Critic Te Ārohi caught up with the young designer from Ōtepoti.
Je Pleure first began as an alias Jack used to release his own art under. “I was originally going to call it ‘I CRY’ until my French friend blurted out ‘Je Pleure’ to me. It was a special moment.” Back in 2017, Jack was in high school, but already knew he wanted to cultivate Je Pleure into a brand. By 2018 he hosted a pop-up shop alongside his friends selling their own clothing in his grandparent’s garage, designing thirty t-shirts for the event.
Jack credits his interest in fashion to growing up practising his own photography, which he started at the age of eight.“Over the years of that, I picked up on clothing a lot more than I used to.” For Jack, it was the connection that a brand has to so many other creative mediums that pushed him to start his own. “All the art mediums that I’ve been practising since a young age all lead to clothing in such an organic way. All of a sudden, I was wanting to have my own garments.” In addition to his independent pursuit of establishing a clothing line, Jack also completed a year-long diploma in fashion design at Otago Polytechnic. “I really appreciate the physical aspect of a garment, and how fashion is the most expressive art form there is to me.”
Jack’s design process is inspired by his life experience: “The way it flows, what I experience, what I see around me and what others go through.” Je Pleure has grown and changed over the years and though this is reflected aesthetically, Jack has found what’s been most influential is his own growth. “Really, the only thing that has changed is growing older, which brings new experiences and directions. This brand is like a lifeline. The further I learn helps with approaching my design process a lot more freely.”
It was in November of last year that Je Pleure and Imperfect Creatures, another Dunedin-based fashion brand by Ethan Cruise, collaborated on their Je Pleure x Imperfect Creatures Showroom. They had only known each other for a few weeks when they decided to work together on this project. “All of a sudden it was six months of planning and it happened. This was my seventh showroom space and the fact it was a collaboration really meant a lot to me.” In addition to the showroom, they also co-designed an event-exclusive knit sweater, their first clothing collaboration together.
The showroom ran on George Street for a week. Of the entire experience, Jack’s highlight was meeting and working alongside Ethan. “[He’s] one of the only people I can work alongside and feel comfortable.” The showroom is a great compliment to Je Pleure’s early beginnings. The showroom, which was well supported by peers, friends and other creatives, featured their clothing lines but was curated to include art, music and events as part of the experience. “The people, the space, the energy. Just magic.”
At the start of this year, Jack relocated to Wellington to pursue further work in the fashion industry. He still keeps strong links to Ōtepoti and his next goal for Je Pleure is to have a runway show here in this city. Je Pleure is available for purchase online at jepleure.com. You can also support Je Pleure by following upcoming news on socials (Insta: @je__pleure).