No more limits imposed by the brand’s heritage, Lucie and Luke Meier rediscover the present in their fifth year of operation
The established status quo at OTB
Lucie and Luke Meier have been leading with creative direction for the brand now since 2017. With the acquisition by OTB in 2021, the label is confirmed to be a driving force on the retail sector. The brand’s lines are in tune with current trends moving away from what has been the triumph of streetwear. Wardrobe essentials with impeccable craftsmanship, these are the core elements that continue to distinguish Jil Sander.
Defined cuts, often declined in tailored versions of the garment, combine elegance, minimalism and glamour. In recent collections, designers have experimented on the artistic rendering of their garments by using different shades, patterns, and fabrics than the brand’s norm. Further exploration can also be found in those classical iconic elements whose shapes are altered in new sinuous and harmonious ways; this is the case, for example, with the games on the collars of the Fall Menswear that showed in January.
Revised minimalism by the Meiers
The brand was born marked by its founder’s idea of the need for minimalism, often borrowing some garments from the professional sphere. The reworking of must-have pieces in wardrobes has also made it unique in traversing the various maximalist and opulent eras.
A theory that works by subtraction and keeps just enough making it chic and luxurious. Iconic pieces such as the suit still return in the collections perhaps with the reimagining of volumes as seen in recent fashion shows. Neutral colors in the latest reinterpretation of the couple of creative directors alternate with bright hues or vivid colors, repurposed in different shades and muted in harmony with the brand’s style.
The restyling of the brand also passes through the years of Raf Simons’ creative direction, who had already contributed to the redefinition of the minimalism dictated by Jil Sander adding playful decorative elements to his designs. The Meiers, daring more in recent collections, aiming to offer their version of less is more.
The new wide volumes at Milan Fashion Week
The brand’s imagined lines, always bold and well-defined, meet in the recent Jil Sander the need to explore new volumes. Some garments that almost seem to trace the features of the body wearing them remain authentic.
But already from the September fashion show, unusual shapes were presented to mimic those belonging to couture. An exciting clash between ready-to-wear garments that are essential in the wardrobe and flashy volumes that, however, dialogue perfectly with the essence of the brand. Not only more imposing volumes but also softened and comfortable lines characterize the garments of the collection.
Winter 2023 finds these volumes mainly in dresses although they can also be appreciated among the outerwear. Dresses seem to mimic a balloon shape, also in the shorter versions. Other proposals on the same wave can be found in the jumpsuit and in the structure of some leather jackets.
Fall-Winter 2023 Jil Sander rediscovery
On their fifth anniversary as creative directors, Lucie and Luke Meier seek a new direction by looking nostalgically at their history. Rather than detachment from the brand’s classic canons, one can speak of reworking them in a mash up of styles and possibilities.
Of course the opening with the total leather look designed with different colored patchwork seems intended to be a statement of change. What is clear is the need to be open to hybridization and the contemporary world. The aforementioned biker looks meet eccentric and embossed patterns. Always present are the defined, well-fitting lines that are instead softened in other looks in particular in the pants.
Pastel colors return both on more basic shapes and experiments with regard to increased volume. Complete sparkling looks, all-over zebra animal prints and giant cherry prints complete the picture of experiments on the theme proposed by the Meiers. «To personalize and to be impulsive and unpredictable», this is the warning of the designers that can be read from the brand’s release.
Experimentation and results by Lucie and Luke Meier
Jil Sander also reintroduces for Fall Winter 2023 a co-ed fashion show made smooth in character also by the use of accessories. The balaclava seems to have been a basic and fundamental element for this collection, as well as contributing to the uniformity of the models.
The fluidity of gender and thought return in the elaboration of the garments, almost never manufactured for a specific sex. What appears essential in this season’s show and in this performance is stratification. The layering work plays with the most classic and linear cuts by juxtaposing varied shapes with each other. And the stratums are not single, but multiple.
Gloves sprout from a series of T-shirts, these with long hems go over the fluid pants at different heights. Dresses or skirts are also paired with a pant underneath. The play of volumes is echoed in the accessories as well, and in particular in the bags.
A game of oppositions is created between linear suits and maxi, almost disproportionate bags, to be carried on the shoulder but also by hand. The creative couple claims their independence to the rhythm of Björk’s background music.
Jil Sander FW 2023
Lucie and Luke Meier would like each outfit in this co-ed Women’s and Men’s collection to tell the story of the individual’s exception, each with its own differences and peculiarities. And between long coats and zipped pants they undo styles and genders
