Simone Bellotti

Fatherland. Jil Sander SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve got literal goosebumps thinking about how accurately Simone Bellotti‘s Jil Sander collection channels the world of Paweł Pawlikowski – the Oscar-winning Polish director behind “Ida“, “Cold War“, and especially “Fatherland”. Whether that was the designer’s conscious or unconscious impulse is an open question. But he certainly knows how to capture a very particular kind of German-ness – one that perfectly echoes Pawlikowski’s cinema and its historically complicated entanglement with Eastern Europe.

There is a certain sadness, brashness and sentimentality here that feels almost haunting. Małgosia Bela – who happens to be not only the original Jil Sander woman, but also the film director’s wife – appears in an hourglass-shaped skirt suit with a white shirt tucked in, creased and slightly undone. The hair is immaculate, the little black pumps perfectly prim. To understand what I mean, you simply have to watch one of the aforementioned films. It’s an unspoken visual connection, rather than a literal reference.

That same poignancy runs through the masculine trench coats, tweaked pencil skirts and tailoring with their somewhat peculiar, almost nun-like silhouettes. Even the little pop of colour feels loaded: a two-piece set in a postcard-like print, but all wrinkled, as if it were the abandoned promise of the West. This is a collection that makes you want to unpack generational trauma. Bellotti reminds us that contemporary fashion can be uneasy.

ED’s SELECTION:


Jil Sander Mélange Wool Jacket



Jil Sander Checked Cotton T-shirt



Jil Sander Satin-trimmed Wool Midi Skirt



Jil Sander Wool Cardigan



Jil Sander Slingback Leather Pumps

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

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The Olive In A Martini. Jil Sander AW26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Simone Bellotti‘s sophomore collection for Jil Sander is simply sublime. I love how he compared it to an olive dropped into a martini: that seemingly unnecessary touch that makes all the difference, transforming the drink into a perfect cocktail. Although his approach to the brand is radically minimalist – focused on the precision of line and the study of proportion – within that monkish asceticism lies a powerful erotic tension.

A decorative ruffle running down the side of trousers, a high slit cut into the back of a coat, skirts provocatively spliced at the seams to reveal flashes of white-stockinged thigh beneath – these blink-and-you-miss-it gestures make a smoldering difference. Notably, much of the action happens at the back of the garments, which feels especially gratifying in an age when we so often see clothes only from the front, flattened onto our screens.

Next to Bellotti, other contemporary “minimalist” brands – such as Fforme or Veronica Leoni’s Calvin Klein Collection – appear pale and insubstantial.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Radical Minimalism. Jil Sander SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Simone Bellotti’s debut at Jil Sander was the cleanse the brand needed after years of somewhat clumsy minimalism under Lucie and Luke Meier. This wasn’t a debut as “big” as Demna’s soft launch at Gucci, nor as sexy as what we’ll likely see in a few days at Dario Vitale’s Versace. Still, Bellotti felt like a natural fit for Sander from the start: his few seasons at Bally intrigued with so-odd-it’s-good silhouettes, Swiss-inspired metalware details, and genuinely desirable accessories. And while Bally has once again descended into chaos (will that brand ever find peace?), Jil Sander now has a fresh sense of direction.

But is it truly new? Perhaps “refreshed” is the better word. The newly appointed creative director embraced radical purism, stripping away any superfluity from a cobalt-blue midi dress or a pristine white men’s coat. The collection recalled Raf Simons’ finest work at the house, as well as Jil Sander’s own uncompromising legacy: no-nonsense minimalism, rooted in the clean lines of Bauhaus modernism but refracted through a chic, Milanese lens. Some critics dismissed Bellotti’s work as naked – stripped of meaning or emotion. Yet the collection contained near-perfect garments: versatile, quietly desirable pieces that could even make the Olsens rethink a thing or two. In comparison, the wave of minimalist shows that clogged New York Fashion Week now feels flat, surface-level, and forgettable beside Jil Sander.

And having Guinevere Van Seenus – the ultimate Jil Sander woman – open the show was a witty, resonant gesture. Back to the roots.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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NET-A-PORTER Limited

Break The Routine. Bally AW25

| Design & Culture by Ed

Simone Bellotti‘s collection for Bally was the perfect finale of Milan Fashion Week, being the best show of the last past days, shoulder to shoulder with Prada. Just like Miuccia and Raf, Simone does highly intelligent fashion – a rare talent. The autumn-winter 2025 show was titled elusively: “Leistung Aufführung” – two German words that both translate to “performance,” but carry distinct meanings. Leistung refers to performance in the sense of work, measured by productivity and achievements, while Aufführung signifies performance as a form of self-expression on stage. Hence the collection’s inspiration: 1970s photographs of Swiss performer Luciano Castelli, with his face heavily made up, dressed in shimmering sequined drag. In the collection, Castelli’s influence translated not only into shimmering berets and sequined make-up, but a striking play between structure and fluidity. Simone’s Bally is above all pure precision of cut; formal tailored coats and severe black leather dresses are regulars, but this time around they went through an expressive treatment, disrupted by wild burst of fur erupting at the back, or peeking out from the rigid crinoline of a peplum top. Those unexpected contrasts felt also very Dada, very Zürich’s Cabaret Voltaire. The bags, reminiscing giant bells that you can all over Swiss landscape, hit all the right spots. “I crave discipline, but breaking the routine is liberating,” Bellotti reflected. The industry rumor has it that this is the designer’s last collection for Bally, a triumph before his arrival to… Gucci. I’m here for it.

ED’s SELECTION:

BALLY Patent-leather Ballet Flats


BALLY Leather Mini Skirt


BALLY Brushed-wool Coat


BALLY Pathy Studded Leather Loafers


BALLY Belle Large Leather Tote

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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NET-A-PORTER Limited

Dada-Chic. Bally SS25

| Design & Culture by Ed

In my opinion, the silent revolution going on at Bally is the most exciting phenomenon in Milan. Simone Bellotti’s vision of the brand very smartly – and with lots of wit – references Switzerland, the homeland of Bally. On the spring-summer 2025 moodboard, he had an eclectic mix of imagery, but one portrait stood out, that of Hugo Ball, the sound-poetry author and founder of the Dada movement in 1916 Zürich. Surrounding Ball’s image were photos of rustic, oddly-shaped cowbells, rusted shoehorns, and Man Ray’s artwork The Gift – a flat iron with thumbtacks glued along its sole. What captivated Bellotti about Ball’s portrait was the striking costume: a tall cylindrical hat and a metallic cone-shaped cape, with a stiff high collar framing his face. “I like its simple precision,” Bellotti remarked. Bellotti revisited the mountain-like, sloped-shoulder silhouette throughout the collection, integrating it into the necklines of coats and blazers. In some ensembles, this shape was paired with curved lines inspired by cowbells, reinterpreted as rounded miniskirts – some of which were lifted at the front to reveal matching culottes beneath. The concept was great, but the effect looked ill-fitting most of the time. Still, there was a standout piece: a burgundy leather coat featuring a sloped collar and shoulders, with a cinched waist that flared into a poufy pannier skirt (very Prada autumn-winter 2009).

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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