Jil Sander Spring 2025: Looking for Light in Dark Times
Luke and Lucie Meier find beauty in melancholy, and cued up a moody Jil Sander show with undercurrents of cowboy, rockabilly and “Bladerunner.”
“Obviously the world is a bit in a dark moment,” Lucie Meier said by way of explanation.
More from WWD
They took heaps of inspiration, most of the color palette, and a few offbeat prints from Canadian photographer Greg Girard, who trains his lens on desolate, urban streetscapes — fog and neon lights lending an eerie character to abandoned cars, empty diners and anonymous apartment buildings.
“I remember Vancouver feeling like that, especially at night, where you have these sort of really synthetic colors, and it’s very empty,” said Luke Meier, the Canadian member of the husband-and-wife design duo (Lucie is Swiss).
You get the sense that Luke is more the minimalist in the design equation, with Lucie adding touches of warmth and embellishment here and there. This creates an interesting visual tension, and you could also sense this in the show space: long brown curtains bordering two narrow corridors, the floor laid with the kind of gaudy floral carpet you might find at a three-star hotel or pool hall in Kitsilano, the famous neighborhood Vancouver hippies favored in the ’60s.
The Meiers opened their show with boxy coats and suits for him and her in the offbeat colors of Girard’s photos, including petrol blue and burgundy. Pointed yokes incorporated into the tailoring added a western twang, as did the snakeskin boots, which also seemed a wink to Edmonton-born shoe designer Patrick Cox.
Bowling shirts, elephant-leg pants and minimalist varsity jackets had a retro feel, which made you think Luca Guadagnino would have plenty to pull here for any period movie set anywhere between the ’50s and the early ’80s.
The mood of the show brightened somewhat as it progressed, thanks to hand-crocheted floral embroideries and little doily-like inserts on polo shirts and twinsets. Ribbed-knit dresses and sweater sets had frilly edges studded with silver pearls.
While the show was not as coherent and uniformly chic as some past outings for Jil Sander, it seemed to suggest that nighttime dressing — in thick satin, glossy leather and meaty tailoring — is one way to confront the gloom.
For more Milan spring 2025 reviews, click here.
Launch Gallery: Jil Sander Spring 2025 Ready-To-Wear Collection
Best of WWD
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.