Jil Sander Pre-Fall 2022 Collection

That the celebration of individuality is the creative driver underpinning most fashion practices today isn’t lost on Luke and Lucie Meier. “For us it’s really important, the idea of working around the character,” they said on a Zoom call. “The person in its humanity and uniqueness is at the center of our creativity.”

What the Meiers have brought to Jil Sander is a progressive yet thoughtful approach, articulated with intelligence in a narrative both consistent and nuanced. Their repertoire is expanding; whimsy and eccentric flair now embellish their disciplined, exacting range. “We’re not considering stereotypes, rather multifaceted attitudes and personalities. Human beings are complex animals,” they said, suggesting that inspiration finds its way through a texture of emotions and connections, leaving excessive analyzing in the background. “We’ve been thinking a lot about our friends, people we know, even ourselves, all the different emotions we’ve been through. So it just felt right to be almost more impulsive, to indulge the spur of the moment, enjoying a certain freshness and lightness.”

The pre-fall lineup was bookended by two similar looks, both two-piece propositions—a sharp-cut top/skirt ensemble in ivory double-faced matte viscose knit, compact and sculptural; and a turtleneck/skirt combination in off-white ribbed wool. Beautifully embroidered with sequined crochet intarsia at the collar, on the sides, or at the hem, they draw attention to the decorative as a subtext to Jil Sander’s sartorial clarity. “Both looks have a chandelier kind of shape, they look rather decadent. It’s nice to offer something special, less ordinary.” Not that ordinary is a term that ever comes to mind regarding Jil Sander.

The collection’s standouts exuded the boldness and confidence of one-of-a-kind pieces. Among the noteworthy examples: an exquisite bias-cut evening dress in soft undyed silk in a pearly shade of ivory, its skirt opening up in a corolla shape garlanded with long silky fringes; a cocooning wrap coat in spongy wool in a delicate hue of eau-de-Nil, jacquarded with a curlicued abstract motif, a bavolet at the back sporting twirled fringes made from the yarn; and a sharp-cut skirt suit in black double-faced wool, embroidered with an inserted guipure piece breaking the severity of the design.

Throughout the collection, silhouettes were slim and close to the body, not too voluminous; tailoring was inflected with the designers’ appreciation for workwear and menswear, and rendered with fluid precision. As always with the Meiers, tactile, rich textures had a feel of the hand—devoré and hammered velvets, chenille, luscious Italian double-faced wools.“It’s about eclectic elegance and strong individuality,” they said.