JACQUEMUS - The Sound Of French Luxury
Commissioned For IFM Paris Showcase
Reimagining ‘Elevator Music’ into Emotional Storytelling
What started as a brief for something light—“elevator music”—evolved into a more cinematic, emotionally resonant composition. After sitting with the visuals, it became clear this advertisement needed more than background ambiance. It needed narrative. Tone. Feeling.
The Narrative: A Woman Waiting For The Day To Start
At the core of the piece is a minimal piano theme that quietly carries an unspoken story. It follows a woman moving through a long, sleepless night – bored, restless, and waiting for the morning to come so she can finally step outside with her Jacquemus purse.
There’s no dialogue, no explicit narrative. It’s the music that speaks – gently suggesting her state of mind, the slow passing of time, and the quiet anticipation beneath it all. The short score becomes her voice, shaping what we feel without ever saying it aloud.
Layering Emotion: The Role of Orchestration
To portray the passage of time and her emotional state, I layered instrumentation with intention:
Piano – Rooted in the original brief, it serves as the piece’s spine.
Chamber Strings – Adds the motion, like time passing in a still room.
Solo Viola & Cello – Introducing warmth and humanity.
Soft Woodwinds – Appears gently as the piece builds, never overstated, just enough to suggest change as the piece climbs to the end.
The orchestration was built to breathe with the advertisement, enhancing but never overpowering it.
From Sketch to Screen
Every composition I write begins with a piano sketch. The raw idea you see here in the short video became the heart of the Jacquemus ad score. It’s where tone and emotion are first found – before any production, before any arrangement. Just keys and silence.
In these early sketch moments, I’m not trying to finish something I’m trying to find the feeling of the story that needs to be told.
The Sonic Brand Identity
With no on-set recordings available, the full soundscape was designed in post-production:
AI Voice Design – The woman’s internal voice was created using AI, tuned to match the emotional context.
Analog Gear & Room Reverb – All elements were processed through the same chain to ensure a unified, organic sonic texture.
Foley Integration – Every sound was recorded and placed deliberately, in rhythm with the visual edits and music phrasing.
People may forget what they saw – but they’ll remember how it made them feel.
And sound is what makes them feel.
People may forget what they saw – but they’ll remember how it made them feel.
And sound is what makes them feel.
Why It Matters: The Power of Sonic Branding
Sonic branding isn’t just decorative, it’s strategic.
Studies show that tailored music can make a campaign up to 138% more effective, and boost brand recognition by 76%. In the world of high fashion, sound carries luxury, memory, and tone. It helps a brand speak without saying a word.
The Final Result Of The Jacquemus Advertisement
Credits
Art Direction – Ines Marlopes
Model – Sarah Tanguy
Director of Photography – Lisa Tomala
Light/Cam Assistant – Simon La-Brossard
MUA – Anastasia
Editing – Blake Orson
Music Production & Sound Design – Kaspar Noé