Lucie and Luke Meier present the Jil Sander spring summer 2023 collection as part of Milan Fashion Week. See the full collection below.
Collection notes
Ease, lightness, smooth lines, elongated silhouettes, solid and deep colors, the movement of sequins, not too delicate, sculptural forms, the pigment print of a vibrant cityscape under a night sky, a constant change of perspective. An ingenious simplicity of cuts, shapes, and purpose.
“We started from the idea and feeling of what the West Coast represents: a new and different world, progressive in thought and freedoms, offering extensive possibility. So we merged different elements in search of a modern balance: workwear’s geometric patterns with Hollywood’s sartorial glamour, romanticism, and realism.”
Lucie and Luke Meier
California
California as an ideal: a modern, magnifying archetype of Western culture. A space of contrasts and fusions, glamour and pragmatism, hi-tech and oneiric, measured, and boundless.
“California means the new, a desire for different ways of living and being, from the visions of the hippies to the futurism of Silicon Valley. It means radical perspectives, non-conformism, experiments with psychedelics, contradictions, opportunities. In this sense, merging womenswear and menswear came quite naturally; we would say it is necessary.”
Lucie and Luke Meier
Materials
Womenswear and menswear merge, fusing day and night, labor and entertainment, function and glamour. Quickness and confidence translate into raw cuts and edges running throughout the collection. Jackets are graphic - either collarless or with generous single-point lapels. A long suit in crêpe sablé is worn over vibrant vulcanized sneakers. Short dresses in chenille, or knitted with feathers, seem to be made by severing long gowns. A luscious, sculpted cotton turtleneck pullover is open at the back.
Hollywood glitz, contrasted by the pragmatic combination of tank tops and trousers, was playfully reinvented and recontextualized.
Lucie and Luke Meier further expand their sartorial language by deconstructing women’s and men’s suits; replacing jackets with lean, round neck tank tops or diagonally slashed overlapping shirts. Alternatively matched by kilts, shorts, and the signature pleated high-waisted trousers.
“To show womenswear and menswear together came naturally. It definitively mirrors what we have done since we started designing our Jil Sander and what we consider one of the foundations of our work together. We always search for a balance among elements that are usually considered opposites, formally, culturally, or emotionally. We think it is important to merge the archetypes of womenswear and menswear, to fuse delicate and functional, day and night, gowns and workwear. It creates the space of freedom and feels intimate and modern to us personally.”
Lucie and Luke Meier
Color palette
White, cream, sand, powder, peach, pale blue and green, lilac, acid green, deep framboise, and magenta. Gradients of brown and grey, and yellows, from bleached to lemon. Black, gold, and silver. The color palette is bold, bright, and varied. And so are the fabrics and materials, matt and shiny: cotton voile, soft cotton-linen, silk, crispy cotton-viscose, sharp and light wools, dimensional and delicate knitwear, overpainted suede, and goatskin.
Bags are constructed with simple forms in elaborate materials, with feathers and threads of paillettes. Handbags have twisting golden and silver chain handles. A new large shiny leather shoulder bag in yellow, green, red, and black.
The colorful vulcanized sneakers, in leather and canvas, and in ready-to-wear fabrics mirroring the garments, are light and lean. The Chelsea boots are decisively strong while the high boots and sandals are all sculpturally rounded, underlining the lightness of the collection.
Everything has the subtlety of couture and the spark of invention, showing the dedication to rigorous design, craftsmanship, and the use of innovative materials and techniques that have established Lucie and Luke Meier’s Jil Sander as an epitome of modern design and sophistication.
Runway
