Lucie and Luke Meier are in their experimentation mode at Jil Sander. Gone are the days when their vision of the brand orbited around the idea of minimalism in its traditional, Sander-esque sense. Trying new things is crucial in order to develop and progress your style. But I’m not entirely share the antiquated space-age aesthetic the designers went for their autumn-winter 2024 collection is necessarily a breakthrough. They leaned too much on the diamond quilting, which if overdosed can feel utterly outdated, and the chainmail details are Paco Rabanne’s territory, especially when we’re talking about 1960s sensitivity. As Cathy Horyn wrote in her review, the collection gave “tragically old lady” vibes, and its hard to disagree.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
Jil Sander – the designer – is a minimalist, but Jil Sander – the contemporary brand – is minimalist no more. Backstage of their eclectic spring-summer 2024 fashion show in Milan, Lucie and Luke Meier explained that their collection was a study of shapes. The two knit dresses were examples of that with their clingy ribbed bodices blossoming below the waist into fuller skirts. Rhinestone necklaces signaled that the brand is open to a bit of opulent bling. Experiments with shapes were further translated in tailoring: the designers cut jackets as boxy as squares and paired them with sailor-collar shirts and shorts to accentuate the silhouette. Or else they elongated their lines, showing duster coats on the guys and extending the men’s jackets nearly to the knees while raising the waistband of baggy shorts well past the navel. There was a looseness to their approach to tailoring; it suggested that they feel freer to play than they did in their earlier days at the label. That freer sensibility held true of other categories too. Button-down shirts were accessorized with metal discs on their collar points, like built-in jewelry, and vests came with twin portholes on the upper chest outlined in the same polished chrome. The portholes were a little on the large side, but you appreciated the instinct. No quibbles with the giant cat face prints on a couple of tunic dresses.
.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram! By the way, did you know that I’ve started a newsletter called Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!
Five years since their appointment as creative directors of Jil Sander, Lucie and Luke Meier decided to switch it up. In their autumn-winter 2023 collection, you won’t find their signature soft minimalism and a regular palette of neutrals, pastels and creams. The first look – a leather motorcycle jacket – was a clear sign something’s different this season. “We kind of looked back at our formative years, the ’90s and 2000s,” said Lucie. “We were thinking about how the outlook was so positive and exciting, thinking about technology coming into our lives. Now the positivity about the future is more difficult to hold up.” Luke interjected: “It’s always a bit rose-tinted, the past, but the one resounding element here was that there was this openness to kind of cross contaminate things.” The original Jil Sander wouldn’t recognize much of the tailoring, but in a season of samey pantsuits, the Meiers’ streamlined, zip-front jackets and expandable trousers were a fresh take. Strangely, some of the looks had more to do with Consuelo Castiglioni’s (Marni’s founder) quirky sensibility than with the German designer’s impact. Bjork’s love song “All Neon Like” soundtracked the show, and her eccentricities sparked some of the ideas here, like the pretty degradé floral print dresses that were paired with nubby-soled sneaker boots. It was good to see he Meiers exercising their individuality, whether that was in the form of an airy, generously cut parachute dress embellished with crushed metal flowers or tunics and tees digitally printed and jacquarded with fruits and bonbons. Still, the overall effect felt try-hard and too inconsistent.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
The mood Luke and Lucie Meier were after for Jil Sander‘s pre-fall 2023 was that of “couture mixed with a sportier feel.We like the attitude of elevated functionality, without compromising on interesting volumes and high-quality fabrics and execution.” A clear message indeed, one which they explored in their rainy spring show. The Meiers are inquisitive, soul-searching designers, and questioning their practice is part of the equation. Highlighting the ‘opposites attract’ tension intrinsic to their aesthetic, they asked, “how do you make things that feel very immediate, fresh-feeling, and modern but also have this inherent couture rigor of technique and shape?” The dynamic between precision and glamour, or utility and sensuality played out throughout the collection, with silhouettes alternating between the voluminous and airy, and the slender and close to the body. Classic couture volumes like the cape, the balloon dress, and the opera coat were given a sporty twist and a comforting feel of ease through the counterintuitive use of high-end fabrics. A cape dress was made in thick jersey; a poufy floral-printed and pleated-plastron minidress was cut from papery recycled polyester. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a slender silhouette conveyed a more athletic, agile language in long silk ribbed knit dresses with racerback tops. Remarkable examples of their obsession with the hand-feel of materials were in evidence throughout. A fringed backless top in hand-knitted open-stitch with geometric motifs looked rather striking, as did both a sinuous ivory slip dress with embroidered ajour details and an asymmetrical floral-patterned guipure skirt. On a similar note, four different fabrics were cut into petal-shaped feathers, and then applied decoratively over a miniskirt and a sleeveless top. The effect was both light and luxurious. “Precious in a simple way,” was how the designers’ summarized the allure of the collection.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
“We asked ourselves what feels modern,” Lucie Meier said, while discussing her and Luke Meier‘s spring-summer 2023 collection for Jil Sander. All of Milan has gone sexy, but the Meiers have a different take on modernity. “We looked at clashing glamour into very simple workwear, our fundamental very simple pattern cutting and then doing things that are more eccentric,” Luke added. That might mean something as straightforward as cutting cargo pants in silk satin or as extravagant as pairing a strapless confetti sequined evening dress with sneakers. The Meiers have always incorporated craft into their work, but whereas in the past macramé and crochet gave their clothes an earthy sensibility, this collection had a shiny gloss – the glam factor. A tank top and midi-kilt were embellished with cloud-shaped mirrors, and the lineup’s single print was lifted from the L.A. street grid after dark, the turned-on lights making a graphic pattern. A knit dress was made using thick yarn with baked-in sequins, and there were feathers galore: peeking from the hem of a sleeveless cotton dress, wrapped around the neck, decorating the large clutch that was one of their bags of the season. Most luscious was the group of finale looks, whose excesses of sequined knit fringe bounced like jellyfish as the models padded down the gravel runway that was actually a chic garden. The only thing that didn’t feel right was the abrupt rain.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki. Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!
Design & Culture by Ed 