Jil Sander

Spring/Summer 2012Ready-To-WearMilan


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Show Report

“BEAUTY is an idea which possesses features widely attributed to attractiveness and perfection. In its most profound sense, beauty may raise an extraordinary experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one’s own existence.”

Raf Simons is of the intellectual school of fashion – his collections frequently display painstaking thought and deep aesthetic vision far beyond the realm of simply clothing – but he has a knack of making it really look good, even if the cerebral spiel isn’t for you.

We walked in to take our seats today over geometric blocks of blue, yellow and black gravel – “shoe wrecker gravel” exclaimed Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou as she assessed the damage to her (gorgeous) new orange Alaias.
And then we were treated to a show whose pure simplicity was refreshing and whose unique point of view made us feel as if fashion week had just begun – quite a feat when we’re only half way through Milan and a monster Paris Fashion Week is still to come.

Simons started with sheer white linen collarless dresses that were folded and layered over each other to avoid too much translucency. Some had small glittering brooches at the back, while others were buttoned up high to the neck to herald a very precise austerity.

The white was then interrupted by a gorgeous neon pink, green and blue-on-white paisley print on dresses featuring the same demure, tailored shapes which, on closer inspection, had roughly shredded surfaces. There were shorts with matching blazers, or dresses with low backs or deep cutaways at the front – each one unique and equally desirable – and they were all worn with mid-calf length white leather laced boots.

Stephen Jones’ veiled hats – like squashed chef’s hats in dark blue or white – had an elegant Fifties air about them. The paisley reappeared in green and black or a red, white, blue and black brocade version and then the mood lightened to include light mesh tube dresses – or a pair of shorts in the same spongy fabric whose criss-cross detailing was mirrored in the leather cage white boots and punctured leather jacket it was teamed with.

“I’ll take you to the candy shop,” sang 50 Cent from the soundtrack and it was tempting to start making a shopping list (for Raf’s clothes rather than 50’s promises), as Picasso’s faces were splashed across knitted sweaters (the Picasso family were thanked in the show notes).

They came with softly tailored trousers in blue and white gingham before a tartan, of green and purple or red and blue gauzy fabric, took over with a kitschy, retro appeal.

It finished with a return to bright white – a strapless dress with a full white skirt surely worthy of a future Jil Sander bride and then a run of ballooning cotton floor-length dresses that proved beyond doubt that long is these days most definitely not just for evening.

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