What Does Simone Bellotti Bring to Jil Sander?
Updated 2:06 p.m. ET March 10
MILAN — Let the Simone Bellotti era at Jil Sander begin.
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The brand and its parent OTB Group revealed on Monday the appointment of Bellotti as creative director, effectively immediately. WWD first reported in January that Bellotti was considered a successor to Luke and Lucie Meier. The exit of the Meiers from Jil Sander was confirmed after their fall 2025 fashion show in Milan last month.
Bellotti was previously creative director at Bally, named to that post in May 2023, succeeding Rhuigi Villase?or.
“Simone embarks on this journey with extensive experience and a distinct talent,” said Renzo Rosso, chairman of OTB Group. “Over the time spent together we shared the strategic vision and mission for Jil Sander, the values of innovation and sophistication that make it an iconic and unique brand.”
His arrival comes at a time of changes at Jil Sander. Last month Serge Brunschwig, previously chairman and chief executive officer of Fendi, who exited the Rome-based luxury company last May and parent LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton in February, was named CEO of Jil Sander, succeeding Luca Lo Curzio, and chief strategy officer of OTB.
While the Meiers’ tenure at Jil Sander was marked by minimalist restraint and a deep exploration of new fabrics and finishes, Bellotti may inject a touch of whimsy into the brand, which was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1968 with a focus on strict minimalism and intense focus on details.
Bellotti quietly joined Bally in October 2022 after a 16-year tenure at Gucci. Previously, he held senior design positions at Dolce & Gabbana, Bottega Veneta and Gianfranco Ferré, boasting an experience in both ready-to-wear tailoring and accessories — the latter category being Bally’s core business. He also counts a stint at A.F. Vandevorst on his résumé.
“I am incredibly honored to join Jil Sander, a storied house that created a new aesthetic with its unique approach and strong identity, and that has always had such a significant influence on the design community,” Bellotti said. “I am grateful to Renzo for the trust, and I am keen to contribute to the house’s full potential.”
His first collection for Bally was presented with a show during Milan Fashion Week in September 2023 and he has since garnered positive reviews for his rigorous designs, sleek tailoring and understated chicness, respectful of the brand’s history spanning 174 years, but at the same time showing confidence in his own vision. He added irreverent and whimsical twists to sober and tailored suits and trenches, like the tiny cowbells referencing the Swiss heritage of the brand, or his diving into the country’s folk stories, such as the legend of an Engadine lake mermaid, for fall 2024.
Art and design have been key inspirations for the eloquent and thoughtful designer, such as German poet Hugo Ball, a founder of the Dada artistic movement and of Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, for his spring 2025 collection.
In just a few seasons, Bellotti has conceived a precise and successful silhouette for Bally, which includes peplum tops, sculptural dresses and rigorously tailored suits at times offset also by his romantic touch — gelling with the style of Jil Sander. Favoring unexpected twists, he has shown sober tailored suits disrupted by sprouts of pink or lime green shearling, or short taffeta dresses peeking under his severe leather coats. At Bally, he emphasized the Swiss heritage of the brand, with gossamer dresses recalling spring mountain flora, also reproduced on a faded rose print on fine cashmere knits.
His skills with accessories, likely fine-tuned while working at Gucci, were key at Bally, where he revisited the storied Glendale with a slim pedestal heel, or the lace-up Scribe, elevated on a block heel. He added bright saddlery studs to Derbies and cutout mary jane brogues, and punk spikes on sandals. No doubt Jil Sander — and Brunschwig given his years at Fendi — will leverage this expertise and further develop the accessories segment.
This is the latest development in the Jil Sander brand. In 2013, the eponymous designer stepped down from the company. She had returned for the third time to her namesake brand in February 2012, after Raf Simons’ seven-year tenure. Sander rose to fame in the ’80s and ’90s with her tailored basics crafted from luxurious fabrics. The designer sold 75 percent of her company to Prada Group in 1999, and made a highly publicized exit a year later. She was succeeded by Milan Vukmirovic, who did sporty disco flash until Sander returned in May 2003, only to split again 18 months later. After her second departure, the brand’s creative reins were handed over to its longstanding design team.
Prada tapped Simons as Sander’s new creative director in July 2005. The brand changed hands two more times during Simons’ tenure. Change Capital Partners acquired Sander from Prada in February 2006 and sold it to Japan’s Onward Holdings two years later.
OTB, the parent company of Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Staff International and Brave Kid, bought Jil Sander in 2021. The group also has a minority stake in Amiri.
Luke Meier is Canadian and Lucie is Swiss and they met met each other at the Florence fashion school Polimoda. They were named creative directors of Jil Sander in 2017, succeeding Rodolfo Paglialunga.
Luke Meier is the cofounder with Arnaud Faeh in 2013 of men’s label OAMC but he stepped back from his role as creative director there last year. His wife worked in the design studios of Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton earlier in her career and then headed, along with Serge Ruffieux, the spring and fall ready-to-wear and couture studios, respectively, under Raf Simons at Dior before stepping into the spotlight between the exit of the couturier and the arrival of his successor, Maria Grazia Chiuri. This was the first time the married designers worked together.
They injected their personal flair for texture and color sensibility into the brand, at times adding fringes, sequins, metal rings, rounded silhouettes and tactile flourishes that challenged the austere image and sharp tailoring and rigorous lines frequently associated with the brand. They succeeded in maintaining the luxury positioning of Jil Sander, with cohesive and sophisticated collections, and a sculptural and poetic approach to the designs.
Jil Sander expanded its retail footprint last year, opening a flagship in Tokyo’s Ginza, the biggest at the global level for the brand covering more than 10,800 square feet. In December, the brand launched its first fine jewelry collection, and in January 2025, two years since the renewal of its license with Coty, it presented its first premium fragrances.
In February, OTB Group CEO Ubaldo Minelli told WWD that the expected initial public offering of the group “remains on the agenda, but we are in no rush. We are looking at 2026 if the economy will be more favorable and the numbers more interesting.”
Last year, while Diesel, Maison Margiela and the direct-to-consumer channel all reported growth, the slowdown in China and a 15 percent decrease in the group’s wholesale channel impacted OTB’s turnover, which decreased 5.2 percent to 1.8 billion euros, compared with 1.9 billion euros in 2023.
While the group does not break out sales by brand, Minelli said that, at constant exchange rates, Diesel revenues last year were up 3.2 percent and Maison Margiela sales climbed 4.6 percent, but he did not comment on the performance of Jil Sander.
In August last year, an affiliate of Regent, the owner of Club Monaco and Escada, acquired Bally International A.G. from JAB. The company is now led by general manager Ennio Fontana. CEO Nicolas Girotto exited Bally in October.
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