Jil Sander’s REFLECTIONS ON THE HERE AND NOW

It was in the northwest end of Milan that the Jil Sander show took place last Wednesday. Luke and Lucie Meier, longstanding designers at Renzo Rosso’s Only The Brave brand, paraded their Spring-Summer 2025 looks against a brown velvety backdrop and on a yellow flowery white carpet during Milan Fashion Week, inspired by the harshness of reality: this is how it went.

LOOKING BACK WHILE ANALYSING THE PRESENT

Despite designing a Spring-Summer collection, Jil Sander’s show was everything but light and summery, both in the clothes and in the set. What was once airy and light, became now darker and heavier, with loose shoulder jackets and black heavy silhouettes throughout the runway show. Fabrics were styled to mix the light in a clever way, pairing satin opaque fibresand vice versa, with clothes losing the rounded approach that the couple used to propose, now going for a more angled version of their elongated shapes. A sort of genderless take on fashion has always been part of Luke and Lucie Meier's wardrobe; this collection, instead, paved the way for a masculine slant to their designs, gazing into the archives of the brand: boxy and oversized fits were power-dressing styles Jil Sander herself introduced in the ‘80s.

AN ARTISTIC TAKE TO FASHION

In the moody summer that the designers predicted for Jil Sander’s future, the photographic work of Greg Girard was the strongest reference, with the artist sitting in the audience of the fashion show too. Canadian just like Luke Meier, his art has always been an exploration of Asian society from a nocturnal point of view. Girard’s elusive subjects turned into prints on the couple’s garments, deeply influencing the color palette of the entire collection. Eastern symbols appeared on blouses and skirts, where the stiffness of outer silhouettes contrasted with the frivolity of crochets and baby collars, discrete flowers and ruched hems. Asiatic references could be found in the subtle jacquards of suits too: a pair of capri pants and a fully buttoned blouse in light blue served as the perfect example.

MODEST DOESN’T RHYME WITH BLAND

What took center stage in the latest work of Luke and Lucie Maier for Jil Sander was all in the details, especially shoes and accessories. Bags, following the boxier approach to clothes, lost their softness to a more business-like attitude: briefcases strutted the runway as firsts, followed by some vertical and smaller versions of the model. Shoes maintained the sleekness of the collection with pointy ankle boots and their adherent features, thanks to elastic bands on the sides. T-bar low-heeled sandals, with their child-like configuration, gave a twist to the collection, paired with light socks covering the skin. Python patterns appeared here and there, suggesting a new trend for the ss25 season, while “Lonely Hearts” necklaces referenced the state we live in every day. All in all, Jil Sander's Spring-Summer 2025 collection could be summarised by the viral very demure, mindful catchy phrase, conveying the profile of a modest woman who does know how not to dilute her personality with clothes though, but rather to elevate them.

SELECTED FROW ONLY

Among attendees to the runway show, it wasn’t only the artist Greg Girard sitting front row:

Solange Knowles patiently waited for his son Julez Smith to do the catwalk, Marina Abramović wore a red fluffy coat, Jack Harlow and Nava Mau appeared in total black while Italian model Elisabetta Dessy and singer Khalid brought a touch of colour.

Courtesy: Jil Sander

Text: Giorgia Feroldi