Jacquemus showed his menswear with women’s for the Spring 2020 collection in a lavender field says everything about the charm, desirability, and power of his brand of youthful Frenchness.

“I wanted it to look like a David Hockney painting or a Christo installation through the fields,” he said. “With lots of prints. A painting within a painting, in a field. Provençal Pop!”

The collection features hyper-sexy modern peasant dresses with ribbon straps to tie and untie; sheer knits; the art-heel shoes he’s invented; and the funny proportions of bags, from a shoulder tote as big as a tent to a “granny’s cake-tin” dangling from straps.

It was the first time he’s shown menswear with womens, and you could see the points—all the squared-off printed shirts and canvas jackets—where the clothes could easily be shared. How was it, thinking about both together? “It was so much easier and a big pleasure for the whole studio,” he said. “The women gave so much to the men, and the men to women. But I always do things without trying too hard.”

Jacquemus brought back the conversation about the escape from dystopian angst, the return to childhood, and the longing for youthful fun.