2025 was a year of seismic change in the fashion industry – one not unnoticed by the Wallpaper* style team, who, in reflecting on their personal style moments of the year, found joy in the new. There was Matthieu Blazy’s exuberant debut at Chanel; the ‘clarity’ of Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collection for Dior; and the ‘fresh and beautiful’ opening act from Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander.

But there was charm to be found in the existing, too: Craig Green’s ‘delirious, psychedelic’ return to the runway in Paris, or Nadège Vanhée’s ‘Second Chapter’ show for Hermès in Shanghai, which unfolded against the city’s futuristic skyline. ‘It made for an arresting spectacle,’ says Wallpaper* fashion & creative director Jason Hughes. ‘The kind that you feel lucky to have witnessed.’

In this spirit, the Wallpaper* style team reminisce on their personal style moments of 2025.

‘This year was undoubtedly about the debuts, and I really felt like the combination of Matthieu Blazy at Chanel and Jonathan Anderson at Dior – despite being distinct in their visions – set fashion’s new mood, and captured the feeling of a slate being wiped clean. Both had a clarity of vision that was exciting to watch: at Dior, I loved the focus on form – and the brilliant accessories – while Chanel had a feeling of joy and energy, bolstered by great clothes and craft (I was a huge fan of Blazy’s work at Bottega Veneta). I’m excited to see the two designers’ vision unfold in 2026 – particularly their debut couture shows in January.

‘On a personal front, I also loved travelling to Shanghai for Hermès’ “The Second Chapter” show – a continuation of Nadège Vanhée’s A/W 2025 womenswear collection for the house. I loved the cleverly layered and stacked-up looks – sweaters around the waist, bags across the chest, leather water bottle holders slung from bags. It played out in North Bund Bay on the banks of the Huangpu River in a specially constructed structure: as the show began, a series of shutters swung open to reveal Shanghai’s glimmering, futuristic skyline beyond. It made for an arresting spectacle – the kind that you feel lucky to have witnessed.’

‘2025 has proved a landmark year in fashion, notable for the number of debuts which dominated headlines and social-media feeds (whether positive or negative, online commentary has been passionate). For sheer spectacle, it was Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel: stepping into the Grand Palais, which had been transformed into an enormous simulacrum of the solar system, was true take-your-breath-away stuff. The collection itself had a feeling of levity, encapsulated by Awar Odhiang’s gleeful spinning finale – she was undoubtedly the model of the season. On the other end of the spectrum was Simone Bellotti’s debut at Jil Sander – eschewing theatrics, he showed in the stark-white surroundings of the brand’s Milanese headquarters. I loved the collection: sharp and sensual, with the intriguing proportions that he brought to his previous role at Bally, it was the type of collection that you immediately want to wear everything you’d seen.

‘Smaller in scale, but no less impactful, was Craig Green’s return to the runway – a delirious, psychedelic outing that looked towards The Beatles and 1960s bedsheets for inspiration. It was an honour following the collection’s progress in the October 2025 ‘Long View’ issue of Wallpaper*, from his showroom in London’s Docklands to the Paris runway. “Creativity is how everything moves forward,” he told me. “You need creative thought for things to progress, and for new things to happen. You have to have the freedom to make mistakes, to create work and not live in fear.” In our increasingly algorithmic society, they seem to be words to live by.’

‘As a native New Yorker, I was pleased to see Matthieu Blazy bring his first Métiers d’Art show for Chanel to the New York subway – even if it was a little more cleaned up than the cross-city commutes I’m used to. Taking place on the platform of the now-disused Bowery station on the Lower East Side, the collection was every bit as exhilarating as his much-discussed debut show in Paris earlier this year, conjuring a fantastical cast of characters you might encounter on the New York street – from Upper East Side ladies at lunch to those headed to the office. It was a joy – and made me excited to go back this Christmas.

‘As for what I'm taking from the runway into my own wardrobe, it has to be the stacked-up charm bracelets and belts of Michael Rider’s first two collections for Celine – they appeal to my magpie-like sensibilities, and have got me searching out charm bracelets of my own. Beauty-wise, I was seduced by the dishevelled hair and stripped-back make-up of Prada’s A/W 2025 show – courtesy of Guido Palau and Lynsey Alexander – which gives an excuse for a just-rolled-out-of-bed look I’m tempted to embrace come January.’

‘My favourite fashion moment of the year was Simone Bellotti’s debut for Jil Sander. The shades of blue and red, the sharp silhouettes, the casting – including Guinevere Van Seenus, who appeared in the brand’s early campaigns. It just felt so fresh and beautiful as it came down the runway. I’m really excited to see where he takes the brand next.

‘As a side note, I’ve also loved listening to the music that soundtracked Wanderlust, a film shot in Hamburg he released for the brand over the summer. It’s a particularly calming kind of astral electro by Bochum Welt, and is the perfect soundtrack for wandering through a city.’

It is a truth universally acknowledged that, when it comes to fashion, the basics are the hardest to master. Chief among them: the white T-shirt.

The white tee is the quintessential element of the capsule wardrobe. It adapts to nearly any aesthetic: it can be dressed up or down, layered or worn solo, accessorised or left plain, and is a year-round essential, equally useful under shirts, jumpers and jackets when the temperature falls.

Wallpaper’s fashion and creative director Jason Hughes and fashion features editor Jack Moss are united in their devotion to the white tee. ‘It’s the foundation of almost every outfit I wear,’ says Jason, who is rarely seen without a flash of white peeking from beneath a sweater or shirt. For Jack, the white T-shirt is ‘probably the garment [he wears] most’, again, usually layered under a shirt or sweater. As for me, I favour a pared-back, Scandinavian aesthetic, for which the white tee is indispensable. Pair with low-rise jeans, tailored trousers, a silk skirt… the options are almost endless.

What makes the perfect white T-shirt?

This elusive garment avoids extremes: not too tight at the neck, shoulders or waist – but not tunic-loose. The sweet spot? A slightly dropped shoulder and a relaxed silhouette. As for length, aim for hip level – just long enough to flatter the form without skewing proportions.

‘Because a T-shirt is so simple, its shape really matters,’ says Jack, who gravitates toward looser, boxier fits, adding, ‘it has to have a high crew neck’. Loose and boxy is a good rule of thumb for women, too; a too-snug tee will bunch at the waist and pull at the hips. If you want a smooth silhouette, don’t be afraid to go oversized. Acne Studios, COS and Arket all do models that fit the bill.

The best white T-shirts are substantial but breathable, with a GSM which offers structure and longevity. Jason’s go-to is a heavyweight crew-neck from US utility brand Pro Club. Jack also leans toward heavier cottons, swearing by classics like Gildan and Fruit of the Loom, but lately he’s been enjoying Extreme Cashmere’s cotton-cashmere blend (‘it falls really nicely’, he says, thanks to the softness of the superfine knit).

The best white T-shirts, according to Wallpaper*

Classic white T-shirts

Cult white T-shirts

Luxury white T-shirts

Sustainably-minded white T-shirts

Everyday white T-shirts

An imagined meeting between photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and couturier Yves Saint Laurent – two men responsible for honing the aesthetic of the 1980s – provided the inspiration for Anthony Vaccarello’s A/W 2025 menswear collection for Saint Laurent, presented in the Tadao Ando-designed rotunda of Paris’ Bourse de Commerce earlier this year. Hanging chandeliers – lowered to just a few feet from the floor – lent the space a moody half-light, inspired by those which hung in the ballroom of Paris’ Intercontinental Hotel, where Yves Saint Laurent held his couture shows from 1976 onwards.

Out of the darkness emerged his protagonist for the season: part-Yves Saint Laurent in ‘bookish’ houndstooth and flannel tailoring, a recreation of his distinctive Parisian uniform, part-Mapplethorpe in the thigh-high leather boots worn atop, inflected with the suggestion of kink that ran through his photographic oeuvre (Mapplethorpe remains best-known for his homoerotic male nudes, which often featured elements of fetish and BDSM-wear, from leather boots, chaps and harnesses to gimp masks and latex). Vaccarello described the collection as capturing ‘a menacing, seductive elegance’, further figured in hefty leather overcoats and flourishes of ‘fur’ (in fact, these pieces were constructed from thousands of meticulously placed feathers).

Dangerous elegance: A/W 2025’s new menswear mood

This feeling of ‘menacing elegance’ ran through the season, with 1980s-inflected designs capturing a mood of dangerous sensuality through moments of leather, denim and western-wear, often clashed with classical tailoring or corporate attire. At MM6 Maison Margiela, tasselled leather gilets and pants looked to have stepped out of a Karlheinz Weinberger photograph; at Versace, slick leather tailoring was worn with silk shirts adorned with animal prints and baroque motifs; while at Prada, an influence of western-wear came in cowboy boots tweaked upwards at the toe, and tailoring made from a patchwork of leather. Playing out amid a scaffold show set designed to evoke the intimacy of a nightclub, co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons called it a collection of ‘instinct and passion’.

Here, taken from the cover shoot of the September 2025 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, a series of these looks is captured by French photographic duo Melanie + Ramon and Wallpaper* fashion and creative director Jason Hughes. Together, they encapsulate the A/W 2025’s dangerous, sensual mood – an invitation to embrace a sense of risk when dressing for the season ahead. Our short film of the shoot, above, plays out to the voice of a young Marlon Brando, as recorded in an early screentest for Rebel Without a Cause (the part later went to James Dean).

Model: Colin O at Tomorrow Is Another Day. Casting: Noah Shelley at Streeters. Hair/grooming: Michael Harding at Blend Management using Davines. Digi tech: Grzegorz Stefanski. Photography assistants: Joe Conway, Jason Colledge. Fashion assistant: Anna Sweasey. Production assistant: Danielle Quigley. Retouching: Courtoisie.

A version of this story appears in the September 2025 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

‘A beginning is a dialogue.’ So reads the introduction to ‘Wanderlust’, a music video and EP released today by Jil Sander, serving as a teaser for Italian designer Simone Bellotti’s upcoming tenure as creative director of the house (his debut show will take place in September 2025).

Bellotti, who was previously creative director at Bally (and before that Gucci, where he was a member of the design team for 16 years), was announced as the successor to Lucie and Luke Meier in March. Though relatively low-key, his Bally became a favourite with fashion insiders for his just-off-kilter riffs on wardrobe archetypes, shot through with a sense of whimsy and play (perhaps his most memorable design was the ‘Pathy’ loafers, a nostalgic play on the boat shoe decorated with studs).

‘Wanderlust’: a first look at Simone Bellotti’s tenure at Jil Sander

The ‘Wanderlust’ project, though, seems to signal a more esoteric side to the designer: focusing not on clothes but music, it features original compositions by Italian electronic music producer Bochum Welt. ‘His mix of aural electronic experimentation and sentimental dance has an affinity with the Jil Sander duality,’ says Bellotti, noting that he wants to present a vision of the brand that is ‘emotional, both visually and aurally’.

Alongside the seven-track EP, a Sean Vegezzi-directed music video for the song ‘Wanderlust’ transports the viewer to Hamburg – the city in which Jil Sander opened her first store in 1968 (her vision of reduction and minimalism would go on to spawn an international label that defined 1990s style, detailed in a recent monograph, Jil Sander by Jil Sander). Shifting between lingering shots of the German city’s industrial portlands and more bucolic scenes of nature, the video aims to capture the feeling of juxtaposition at the heart of the label. It’s ‘the face-off of strictness and lightness, rigour and abandon’, says Jil Sander of the film, which was art directed by Christopher Simmonds.

In it, a series of protagonists, wearing – presumably – Bellotti’s early designs for the house, weave their way through the city. Looks are reminiscent of Jil Sander’s own tenure at the house: crisp white shirts and ivory pencil skirts, navy knits, and a simple sleeveless pullover. For now, it is too soon to predict whether this will be the gist of the September collection, but it certainly feels like Bellotti is keen to take Jil Sander back to its roots.

A physical event also took place in Hamburg, seeing a series of the tracks performed live at OHG Hamburg, a former factory that now serves as a local cultural hub (with its poured concrete floors and lofty ceilings, the brand said ‘[it is] a space that embodies a refined minimalism that aligns with Jil Sander’s signature aesthetic’). In a statement from the brand, Bellotti confirmed that music would play a part in his vision for Jil Sander going forward.

For the musically curious – or those collectors of rare, one-off fashion ephemera – vinyls of the EP will be available at Jil Sander boutiques, jilsander.com and Kudos Distribution, an independent music distribution company that operates internationally, later in August.

Watch Jil Sander x Bochum Welt ‘Wanderlust’ below.

Jil Sander founded her fashion house in Hamburg in 1969, with the brand steadily gaining a reputation for its clean lines and minimalist aesthetics, and the designer applying her purist vision to everything from fabrics to flagship stores. She would go on to quit her eponymous label, return and then quit again, but she has continued to design the highly sought-after +J collections for Uniqlo (and released a career-spanning monograph, Jil Sander by Jil Sander, in 2024).

Sander was recently invited to collaborate with pioneering furniture maker Thonet, taking its tubular steel icons and putting her own stamp on them. Her two new lines, ‘Nordic’ and ‘Serious’, weave in high-gloss lacquered wood details and Viennese canework or leather seats and backrests in a nuanced colour palette, adding a modern elegance to a classic form. Here she talks to Wallpaper* contributing editor Nick Vinson about the inspiration behind this special project.

We ask Jil Sander about her sensitive take on a Thonet classic

Wallpaper*: You chose to reinterpret the ‘S 64’ chair, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1929. Why did you select this one, and what makes it such a timeless classic?

Jil Sander: Its elementary square dimensions are very reassuring; it’s an icon of uncompromised modernity. When I was approached by Thonet about the possibility of a cooperation, it felt close to my design aesthetics, and so seemed worth the effort of a reappraisal. I like its democratic form, which doesn’t urge you into a specific position. It is comfortable for everyone and makes a strong spatial statement.

W*: Your intervention is respectful and restrained. How did you decide how far to go and where to stop?

JS: I couldn’t touch the Breuer form, thus my ideas were channelled from the beginning. I immediately thought of doing away with the chrome frame, which shines like a mirror. That’s why I didn’t polish the cantilever, quite the opposite. I wanted to subdue the glossy appearance and add a certain nobility. This influenced the choice of leather and canework, too.

W*: You picked two contrasting finishes for the chair, one a rich gloss and the other an unusual matt nickel silver. Is this a finish you have used in previous architectural projects?

JS: The matt nickel silver frame of the ‘Nordic’ line has a warmer aura. We subtly attuned it to the lighter leather colours and the canework seat version, as well as to the two oak versions, one varnished in a natural tone and the other stained with white pigment. I had used nickel silver for the metalwork in my flagship stores. If you want to create an environment of understated luxury, nickel silver acts like a backbone.

W*: When developing the Italian tanned bull leather for the seat and back, what did you want to achieve in the tanning, finish, touch and colour?

JS: We wanted high-quality leather with a firm touch. The grained structure lends the leather a more animated appearance.

W*: How will the ‘natural’ colour leather age?

JS: The leather quality of both lines is the same. In the ‘Nordic’ line, only the wood has been pigmented, the leather has been tanned naturally. The furniture comes with care instructions. A certain patina over time will look good against the matt nickel silver frame.

W*: The octagonal weaving technique used for the Viennese canework was very popular in the Biedermeier period, and Thonet has been using it since 1819. How have you tweaked it?

JS: Biedermeier was a modern movement in Europe that was quite independent from classicism. It combined a spirit of restraint and simplification with great craftsmanship and a love of nature. Through the work of architect Adolf Loos, Vienna became a hotspot for the integration of craftsmanship into the modern vision. These vibes ring true again today. I reworked the cane, we bleached and pigmented it to provide it with a fresh attractiveness and to underline the sophistication of the natural material.

W*: You have collaborated extensively with architect Michael Gabellini, garden designer Penelope Hobhouse, and photographers such as Irving Penn and Peter Lindbergh. What is it like to update something designed by another person, and have you ever reworked anything like this before?

JS: I am new in the sphere of updated design icons, but I like to learn and to orient myself in a new field. As with my garden, it implies the study of history, aesthetic possibilities and the different qualities that are available. It takes a designer’s sensibility to create a new synthesis. As to the cooperation with other creative people, the first step is to decide who you want to work with. Once there is a fundamental affinity, mutual understanding can easily be achieved. I am a great believer in motivation through explanation.

W*: You live and work in a pair of late 19th-century villas in Hamburg designed by Martin Haller. In a previous interview, you told me that when you renovated them, you learnt that all style periods have a purist version of enlightened craftsmanship and choice materials. You chose to photograph your Thonet chairs there. Why do you feel that placing objects together from different periods works so well?

JS: We stripped the Martin Haller atelier house of its 19th-century interior, creating uncluttered space that is then flooded by Hamburg’s crisp northern light. We left traces of the original design, like the stucco ceilings and doors, and restored them to a museum level. In the interest of generous proportions, we also took out some walls. When the spatial proportions are right, all you need is to add a chair of any style you like to infuse the space with life.

W*: You have paired the chairs with two works by Imi Knoebel, Tempo Primo and Figur H105. What is it about this artist that attracts you, and why did you choose to photograph the chairs with his work?

JS: I had no doubt that the reimagined Breuer chair would look great against Imi Knoebel’s artwork, which is an equivalent to my vision of purity. I collected his work from very early on. In my experience, once you build surroundings according to your taste, every new interest will fit in.

W*: People like to use labels such as ‘minimalist’ around you, but they probably don’t know of your taste for both Renaissance and opulence. How does that sit with your purist aesthetic and these chairs?

JS: You can even introduce minimalist aesthetics to a Renaissance interior, if you keep the rooms apart. I built a high-tech kitchen in the centre of my Haller residence; its interior had been recreated by architect Renzo Mongiardino in the Renaissance style. 

‘JS Thonet – A Personal Interpretation by Jill Sander’ is on show from 7-13 April at Via Brera 16, Milan

thonet.de

Salone del Mobile 2025 takes place 8-13 April. Check our full Milan Design Week 2025 guide for the must-sees

This article appears in the May 2025 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands from 3 April, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Drawing on an eclectic roster of references, high jewellery this year unites historical techniques with rainbows of precious stones. Whether cutting sharp geometrical silhouettes or undulating forms, a bold high jewellery accoutrement calls for statement clothes. Clashing patterns, oversized collars and billowing tops - here are the best partners for a very special collection.

A version of this article appears in the April 2025 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

After nearly a decade at Jil Sander, wife and husband duo Lucie and Luke Meier are parting ways with the brand. The news came today following their A/W 2025 show, which was unveiled this afternoon in Milan.

Since their appointment in 2017, the couple has steered Jil Sander with quiet precision, building upon the brand’s sharp, clean legacy with emotion-fuelled collections that have proven – time and again – that minimalism can be full of feeling. The pair’s story began in Florence, where they met while respectively on placement courses at prestigious fashion university, Polimoda. Luke went on to become design director at Supreme and later founded OAMC, while Lucie worked at Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga before stepping in as interim creative director at Dior after Raf Simons.

Moving to Milan to take on Jil Sander, the couple have spent the past eight years laying down a sensitive new visual language at the brand, bringing the rigorous aesthetic established by its namesake in 1968 into a sensual new present. Drawing inspiration from nature, Japanese architecture, and ambient music, early collections focused on structural shapes and technical innovation in materials, while later seasons introduced a more fluid poetry into Jil Sander’s world, softening the stiff traditions of tailoring and ideas of power dressing through narratives of romance. Throughout their tenure, the couple has emphasised the importance of craft, working closely with artisans and makers on collections that are as technically refined as they are aesthetically considered.

While many brands have struggled in the recent luxury downturn, under the Meier's direction Jil Sander has enjoyed steady commercial growth, maintaining a strong market positioning and opening 18 new stores worldwide. Leading with purpose as a duo, their tenure is a testament to the power of collaboration – reflected not just in the cult status of their accessories and tailoring – but in the community they’ve built around the brand. This is evidenced by their long-standing relationships with certain creatives, such as photographer Chris Rhodes, whose intimate, striking imagery has defined Jil Sander’s campaigns since the Meier’s start, and producer Benji B, who has shaped the distinctive atmospheric soundscapes of their runway shows.

Befitting their story at Jil Sander, the couple’s swansong collection was described as ‘a bright metaphor of love.’ Soundtracked by a crescendoing ‘vortex’ of sounds and voices (assembled by friend Benji B), from the pitch black darkness of the Milan show space emerged a series of looks that sought light – metaphorically, and literally – against the backdrop of a turbulent outside world. Tough textures that signalled danger, like leather jackets, pointy red shoes and metal eyelets, gave way to angelic softness in looks that cleverly harnessed pretty floral prints, girly lace, and feathers which sprung from English wool. Balancing ‘sensitivity and the self-defensiveness of sleaze,’ it was a display of textural eclecticism that only the pair could have created – and a celebration of all they have built together at the house.

‘We’re just lucky to have a medium that we can express ourselves through,’ the pair said of their specific approach, speaking to Wallpaper* in 2023. ‘Collections are an interesting thing, because it’s a little bit like a timestamp on a period, right? We’re always evolving as people and our ideas are always progressing and are always changing. Fashion is exhilarating, because it’s a dialogue with what's going on in the world.’

jilsander.com

The fashion show has a tendency to be prescriptive. It tells its viewer what to wear, and often how. It proposes a certain silhouette – the hiking up of a hemline, the shift from the slender-cut to the oversized – or garment, which then becomes an object of desire. Often, these runway shows are filtered through a particular theme, which might be esoteric or universal; the next season, the designer will evolve that vision or reject it. And so the cycle goes on.

At Prada’s latest womenswear show, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons offered an alternative. In recent seasons, the co-creative directors have seemed to feel increasingly constricted by strict thematics. Instead, their shows together have become meditations on more abstract themes such as time or youth, which are open to interpretation. Even when they have elucidated a theme – a recent menswear show clashed corporate attire with outdoor wear – there was a feeling that they were seeking something more intangible, a sense of style that defies categorisation. ‘We try to make the best out of our work, to make beautiful things, for today,’ said Miuccia Prada, simply, in 2023. ‘That may sound banal, but it is the truth.’

S/S 2025 heralds a new era of fashion eclecticism

The S/S 2025 show, which was staged among snaking benches covered in sheets of raw-edge grey satin, operated more like an open-ended invitation: who do you want to be today? ‘Infinite options proffer infinite opportunities,’ said the house. These options comprised 49 entirely different looks to choose from; a collage of elements with barely a garment or idea repeated. There was no discernible diktat on silhouette, fabric or colour. Instead, it was an electrifying melange of ideas: 1960s swing coats in trompe l’oeil fur, luminous nylon windbreakers, satin gowns reminiscent of midcentury haute couture, bug-like sunglasses-cum-hats, BDSM hooks as adornment on leather belts, glimmering Space Age silver skirts dotted with huge round eyelets. The list went on.

Miuccia Prada called it ‘a Prada for every individual’. Simons concurred. ‘We thought of each individual as a superhero – with their own power, their own story,’ he said. ‘That reflects an idea of transformation – through your practice, actions or the clothes you wear. They’re all means to express a message about your personal strength. They can transform your perception of yourself.’

The pair said it was, in part, a reaction to the internet algorithm, evoking the feeling of an infinite scroll; an onslaught of information designed to mine our dopamine-fuelled desires. Miuccia Prada said it wasn’t necessarily a ‘critique’ of the technology, though she asserted it can silo us into ways of thinking and dressing. ‘[Everyone] sees their own version of the present; their own reality curated for them,’ she said. Because, despite the illusion of endless choice, the effect of an algorithm is more likely to smooth and homogenise: after hours of scrolling, everything eventually begins to look the same.

‘An incredible amount of information is collected on us all today. Everything you like is recorded by an algorithm. This is our proposal for an alternative,’ concluded Miuccia Prada. These were clothes to reassert your authority over what you wear; a riposte to the ‘derivative and the expected’.

As is so often the case with a Prada show, the collection would set the tone for a season whereby designers embraced the eclectic and advocated individual style, albeit in a multiplicity of ways. It led to collections that were infinitely richer in construction; more colour; more adornment; a certain nostalgia. Like at Prada, designers offered invitations: who do you want to be when you put on these clothes? How will you wear them? Will you mix or match?

It provides both a challenge and an opportunity for the wearer. By and large, designers rejected the swaddling safety of quiet luxury, and the reassurance of uniform dressing. It’s easy to put on an expensive sweater and jeans to walk out of the door in the morning; to wear a piece from Anthony Vaccarello’s opulent S/S 2025 collection for Saint Laurent – its flourishes of brocade and lace inspired by the heady rush of Yves Saint Laurent’s 1970s oeuvre – is an altogether bolder proposition. The same goes for the strange and seductive clashes of colour and print at Dries Van Noten, or the dishevelled glamour of a Numeroventuno collection inspired by the rebellious female subjects of Austrian photographer Karlheinz Weinberger.

‘I took their creative spirit, which, in my opinion, came from their urge to put different fads and fashions together,’ said creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua. ‘They reinvented themselves day after day.’

Bolder still are the riotous creations of Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbrø at Paris label All-In, which offers a playful ode to the perennial party girl (ruffles, sequins and a purposeful dishevelment are de rigueur). This season, the pair took inspiration from Melanie Griffiths’ character Tess McGill from 1980s romcom Working Girl, a figure who uses clothing to transform herself. Staged against the backdrop of a late-evening Parisian sky, it was a collection that conjured up the thrill of flicking through a fashion magazine as a teenager (indeed, All-In began life as a magazine).

At Louis Vuitton, models pounded a raised runway in looks that also evoked 1980s abundance, albeit with Nicolas Ghesquière’s futuristic, postmodern sheen. He has always been a master of eclectic style, and is steadfast in his rejection of thematics or trends, instead ricocheting between centuries and place, the real and the imagined. There might be a gulf between the might of a house like Louis Vuitton and the wildness of All-In, but the resulting collections were rooted in the same feeling of self-expression, a no-holds-barred approach.

These were the highlights of the season. So too was Matthieu Blazy’s latest collection for Bottega Veneta, which would also be his last (in December, he was announced as the new artistic director of Chanel). For S/S 2025, he thought about the ‘primal’ moment of a child dressing up in a parent’s clothing, seeing oversized shapes meet illustrated animals, tasselled wigs and a pile-up of floral appliqué. It’s not a stretch to say the unbridled joy of the collection helped him secure what is arguably fashion’s top job. And, with close to a dozen new creative directors beginning their tenure in 2025 – from Sarah Burton at Givenchy to Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford – the challenge is for designers to be equally fearless in their conviction. To stoke desire, clothes have to say something again. There will likely be reward in risk.

Here, we have imagined similar acts of transformation and invention; the feeling of stepping through a door in the boldest of looks. It is an ode to personal style, an invitation to get dressed up again. Take inspiration from these pages, or don’t. Search out the new or reinvent the old. Express yourself. Who do you want to be today? The options are infinite.

Model: Katlin Aas at Supreme Management. Casting: Ikki Casting at WSM. Set build: London Art Makers.. Hair: Masayoshi Fujita at Of Substance Agency using Oribe. Make-up: Sandra Cooke using Victoria Beckham. Beauty. Manicure: Cherrie Snow at Snow Creatives using Pleasing. Digi tech: John Cronin. Photography assistant: Charlotte Ellis. Fashion assistant: Nathan Fox. Set and production assistant: Archie Thomson.

A version of this article appears in the March 2025 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Jil Sander’s premium fragrance collection, Olfactory Series 1, has just landed. The edit of six perfumes – conceived by creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier alongside some of the industry’s most esteemed noses – marks another new chapter for the brand, which expanded its remit of ready-to-wear, shoes, bags and accessories to include fine jewellery last month (December 2024).

Championing the minimalist codes established by Jil Sander, who founded her namesake fashion line in 1968, Olfactory Series 1 takes inspiration from the finishing touches on a piece of clothing. ‘At Jil Sander precious details are sometimes hidden; intended for the wearer only,’ says the brand in a statement, referencing the inside of a cuff. ‘Who does not remember, and wear, something for its smell or touch, rather than for the way it looks?’

Olfactory Series 1 also celebrates Jil Sander’s long-standing partnership with Coty. The French beauty giant has worked with the label since inaugurating its fragrance line in 1979 with Pure; a chypre scent contained in a bottle designed by Peter Schmidt. In the case of Olfactory Series 1, Formafantasma (a design practice now featured in the Wallpaper* 2025 Design Awards issue) conducted a series of experiments alongside artisanal glassmakers before arriving at the final bottle: an asymmetrical, bell-like shape housed in a white aluminium cloche.

Each of the new perfumes – titled Leaf, Miel, Black Tea, Earth, Coffea, and Smoke – has been stripped down to just a few essential ingredients. This includes CO2-extracted natural oils, synthetic aldehydes to act as ‘sparks of light flashing through the fragrances’, water and a blend of alcohols (some of which are derived from upcycled carbon emissions). From the aroma of petrichor to a freshly picked heirloom tomato, read more on how each of them smells below.

What does Jil Sander’s new perfume collection smell like?

1. Leaf

Leaf, by nose Julie Massé, is a zesty, verdant and fresh scent capturing the ‘remembrance of a freshly picked Black Krim tomato, fruit and leaves, in a Mediterranean garden.’ The aldehydic element combines lime, CO2-extracted cardamom and the cooling sparkle of mint.

2. Miel

For Jil Sander’s Miel, Mathilde Bijaoui has created a woody composition, with the essence of upcycled cedarwood and vetiver. The inclusion of CO2-extracted jasmine provides honeyed sweetness via a radiant and heady floral burst.

3. Black Tea

A contemporary take on an amber perfume, Nathalie Lorson’s Black Tea is spicy and intense, with the warmth of osmanthus and cinnamon. The black tea is CO2 extracted, which obtains ‘a pitch as close as possible to its natural note’.

4. Earth

‘The smell after the rain, small puddles of water, the first memory of a Matsutake mushroom, the generosity of the Earth,’ is how Jil Sander describes Earth, a perfume also by Julie Massé. Here, two different types of rose meet with the Matsutake, alongside patchouli leaves.

5. Coffea

Paul Guerlain has captured the essence of freshly brewed coffee in Jil Sander’s Coffea, a floral amber perfume. The inclusion of orris and the resinous notes of Peru balsam, extracted from the Myroxylon tree, captures the feeling of bathing in early morning sunlight.

6. Smoke

Both intensely woody and spicy, Berenice Watteau’s Smoke gets its name from the perfume’s use of cedarwood, cade, elemi and oud. Enveloping and enigmatic, it evokes the comforting smell of freshly washed laundry ‘drying near a fireplace’.

jilsander.com

David Lynch, the unparalleled visionary behind canonical films such as Blue Velvet (1986), Wild At Heart (1990) and Mulholland Drive (2001), passed away this week (15 January 2025) at the age of 78. On Wallpaper.com, we pay tribute to the auteur by remembering his guest editorship at the magazine in October 2010.

Craig McClean has also written an obituary, recalling an anecdote from his meeting with Lynch: ‘That morning, we sat in the concrete cube that was this multidisciplinary artist’s painting studio, one of a series of similar structures slotted into the Hollywood Hills that comprised his home with his fourth wife, the actress Emily Stofle,’ he says. ‘We were, of course, drinking coffee,’ McClean continues. ‘And yes, it was damn fine, not least because it was a cup of David Lynch Signature Cup Organic House Roast (signature notes, according to my genial and welcoming barista from beneath a shock of silver quiff, ‘sweetness, smoothness, no bitterness even if it’s just pure, straight black espresso, packed with flavour’).

Lynch directed a four-minute-long commercial for his namesake coffee brand in 2011, featuring a close-up shot of a Barbie head held between his fingers. 20 years prior, he created a Twin Peaks-inspired series of adverts for the Japanese brand Georgia Coffee, featuring cast members from the TV series including Kyle MacLachlan as Agent Dale Cooper, Mädchen Amick as Shelley Johnson and Catherine E Coulson as the Log Lady.

Clearblue pregnancy tests and Alka-Selzer antacid tablets; Parisienne cigarettes and the PlayStation. These are just a few more products Lynch had a hand in marketing via short commercials. But here, Wallpaper* reflects on the times Lynch turned his signature surrealist lens to perfume advertisements for Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Lancôme, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, Dior and Gucci.

David Lynch’s dreamlike perfume commercials

Calvin Klein (1988)

Following on from the acclaim of Blue Velvet, David Lynch was commissioned to produce his first-ever commercial by Calvin Klein for its fragrance Obsession. Released in 1988 as a series of four black and white shorts titled Awake, Dangerous, Explore and Kissed, each tells the stories of four pairs of lovers (one of which is played by Heather Graham and Benicio Del Toro). Every film was inspired by a different novelist – Ernest Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence, Gustave Flaubert and F. Scott Fitzgerald – and included a voiceover reading excerpts from their writing.

Giorgio Armani (1992)

Giorgio Armani selected David Lynch to create the campaign film for his 1992 fragrance Giò. According to lynchnet.com, Mr Armani ‘personally’ phoned up the director asking for a concept, which Lynch then sent to him in the form of a short poem. The resulting advert Who is Giò? is a Lynchian neo-noir, with model Lara Harris playing a mysterious femme fatale flitting in and out of parties and around the backstreets of an unnamed city, as the paparazzi follows her trail.

Yves Saint Laurent (1992)

Giorgio Armani wasn’t the only designer seeking the talents of Lynch, with Yves Saint Laurent calling on him to dream up a commercial telling the story of the best-selling house fragrance, Opium. This time using colour - alongside his quintessentially dream-like dissolves and double exposures - a woman in a gold dress, with long red fingernails complimenting the perfume’s lacquered bottle, ascends the stairs to an apartment. Upon applying Opium to the nape of her neck, she is overcome with ecstasy.

Lancôme (1993)

Isabella Rossellini became the face of Lancôme in 1982. She would meet David Lynch a few years later during the casting process for Blue Velvet, where he remarked on her uncanny resemblance to Ingrid Bergman (not knowing that Bergman was her mother). Rossellini and Lynch entered into a relationship, with Rossellini also playing the role of Perdita Durango in Wild at Heart alongside a cast that included Nicholas Cage, Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe. Although parting ways romantically in 1991, they remained life-long friends and collaborators, with Lynch capturing Rossellini on film once more in 1993 for Lancôme’s fragrance commercial for Trésor.

Jil Sander (1993)

The Instinct of Life, David Lynch’s 1993 campaign film for Jil Sander’s now-discontinued fragrance Background, is set in a vast, arid landscape. Amidst smoke machines and vivid coloured lighting, a lone protagonist chases a black panther throughout the night, ultimately befriending the animal as the sun rises. It seems as though Lynch was trying out techniques for Lost Highway (1997), which was shot in California at Silurian Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. (Lynch once said in a 1999 interview with Movieline that he liked to take on commercial work to ‘learn about the latest technology, tools that normally wouldn’t be available to me’ for later use in feature-length films).

Karl Lagerfeld (1994)

Daryl Hannah never worked with Lynch on any of his feature films. However, she did collaborate with the director as the 1994 face of Sun Moon Stars, a fragrance by Karl Lagerfeld created by the designer for his namesake brand. In the commercial, Hannah assumes a role reminiscent of the Marilyn Monroe-esque ‘Hollywood blonde’, a character trope so often used by Lynch. Here, the actor is seen in a dream-like state, swathed in lilac silk and floating around a cosmic backdrop as she longingly muses on the solar system.

Dior (2004)

In 2004, during his tenure as the director of menswear at Dior, Hedi Slimane tapped David Lynch to direct the fragrance commercial for Fahrenheit. Set to a snippet of As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls , a 20-minute-long jazz fusion track, Swedish actor Andreas Wilson is seen hurtling upward in a clinical chrome elevator as he begins to hallucinate, seeing visions of the natural world. When Wilson reaches the destination floor the doors open, revealing a heavenly expanse of orange sky. (Slimane’s long-time collaborator on make-up for campaigns and shows Aaron de Mey posted a tribute to Lynch on his Instagram, remembering this campaign shoot).

Gucci (2009)

David Lynch filmed his last perfume commercial in 2008 for Gucci (which also happened to by the first television ad for the Italian house). It starred models Raquel Zimmermann, Natasha Poly and Freja Beha Erichsen as the faces of new fragrance Gucci by Gucci. Above, watch the commercial in full, which was filmed in Paris and set to Heart of Glass by Blondie. Below, find a BTS look at the making of the campaign, which provides an intimate glimpse of the maestro at work and the uplifting atmosphere he cultivated on set. (He said in a 2017 interview with GQ that he never ran a working environment on fear). Highlights include Lynch smoking as he perfects a shot of cascading glitter and at a wrap party with the cast and crew – a moment in which their feeling of love and admiration for the director is palpable.

How best to define a year in style? Here, we look back over a series of illuminating conversations Wallpaper* has had with fashion’s leading figures in 2024 – whether those helming vaunted maisons, or an energetic new vanguard of designers shaping the industry’s future.

There are threads that link these conversations: both Demna and Kim Jones talk about modernising the historic art of haute couture, at Balenciaga and Dior Men respectively, while Nadège Vanhée also talks about her quietly rebellious revolution of Hermès’ womenswear collections. Meanwhile, renegade British designer Martine Rose talks about bringing her disruptive vision to the usually polite Milan Fashion Week. America – perhaps down to its shifting political landscape – is also a thematic thread, explored in conversations with Tory Burch, Willy Chavarria, and a new generation of New York-based designers who consider the future of New York Fashion Week.

Selected by Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss, these wide-ranging fashion interviews tell the intriguing stories behind the designers who’ve shaped 2024.

Nadège Vanhée on a decade of womenswear at Hermès

In the September Style Issue of Wallpaper*, Nadège Vanhée – the artistic director of Hermès’ womenswear collections – opened up about her past ten years at the venerable French Maison. ‘It’s a balance between what I love and what I want to explore – my obsessions, my feelings. What I want to wear, yes, but also pieces that go out of my comfort zone,’ she says of her quietly rebellious design philosophy, which contemplates ideas of female liberation and sensuality. Or in her words: ‘What is the life of a woman today?’

READ: ‘What is the life of a woman?’: Nadège Vanhée on a decade of womenswear at Hermès

The story behind Kim Jones’ first Dior Men couture collection

In June, Kim Jones presented his first couture collection for Dior Men, a virtuosic expression of savoir-faire that drew on the on-stage uniforms of the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (the designer’s uncle, Colin Jones, was a former dancer who photographed Nureyev in 1966 for Time magazine). Speaking to Wallpaper* in Paris a few months later – amid preparations for his S/S 2025 show – Jones said the impetus for the collection was a growing desire from consumers for the unique and precious. ‘People want something that nobody else has,’ he told us.

READ: The story behind Kim Jones’ showstopping first couture collection for Dior Men

Willy Chavarria on rewriting American fashion

Ahead of a standout show at New York Fashion Week in September, Willy Chavarria – one of American fashion’s most distinct new voices – sat down with Ann Binlot to discuss the collection, which was titled ‘América’ and paid homage to immigrants’ contribution to the country’s infrastructure (Chavarria is of Mexican-American descent). ‘The community that I grew up in as a kid had a tremendous influence on not only my aesthetic and my work ethic, but also my view of what the country is that we live in, what it means to be American,’ he said. 'I wanted to shine a light on the people who make this country work.’

READ: How Willy Chavarria is rewriting American fashion

The renaissance of Tory Burch

‘I feel like a new designer,’ Tory Burch told us in the August issue of Wallpaper*, a celebration of creative America. A perennial fixture on the New York design scene – her eponymous label began in 2004 – recent seasons have seen something of a renaissance for Burch, who is flexing her creative muscle with experimental and unexpected collections that have garnered her a whole new generation of fans. ‘The only regret I have is that I didn’t do all of this sooner,’ she says.

READ: Inside the renaissance of Tory Burch

A rare conversation with Jil Sander

The occasion of a new Irma Boom-designed monograph led to a rare conversation with seminal German designer Jil Sander this November, seeing the designer reminisce on a career in fashion that began in 1968. ‘I was surprised by the strong feminine side of my work,’ she told Wallpaper*. ‘Some voices categorised me as a designer for business wear. But I was always interested in changing the general performance of men and women... I looked for a more intellectual sensuality.’

READ: A rare conversation with Jil Sander as she releases a career-spanning monograph

Demna’s thoroughly modern haute couture for Balenciaga

Speaking to Dal Chodha in the March Style Issue of Wallpaper*, Demna opened up about his distinctly contemporary vision for the Balenciaga’s haute couture line – a pitch for the historic medium’s relevancy today. ‘I always knew that couture had this kind of magic to it, of being an experiential way of wearing clothes,’ he said. ‘I just wondered if it would still be like that. The world we live in is so oversaturated with information, colour, visuals. We’ve become numb to the beauty of the world. Why don’t we see the beauty anymore? We need it to survive as a human race.’

READ: Balenciaga’s Demna on creating thoroughly modern haute couture

Martine Rose on bringing her disruptive vision to Milan

‘You have to do what you believe in,’ renegade British designer Martine Rose told Joe Bobowicz as she brought her disruptive, subculture-infused vision to Milan Fashion Week (in a particularly enjoyable contrast, it took place just after Prada and a few hundred yards away). Cue plastic noses, trailing wigs, and influences from kink, clubland and street culture: ‘I trust that people will come with me, that people are curious enough,’ she said.

READ: Martine Rose on her disruptive Milan Fashion Week debut

Molly Goddard on creating a community of brides

‘It was really something that I resisted for a while. Partly, it was because people often chose to wear pieces from our ready-to-wear collections and that felt enough,’ said Molly Goddard of her foray into bridal wear, which has been adopted by a community of brides seeking something more unexpected for their nuptials. Sharing her tips on how to approach bridal attire – ‘my main tip is not to suddenly become a totally different person’ – we also catch up with three Molly Goddard brides on wearing the designer for their big day.

READ: Molly Goddard on creating a community of contemporary brides

New York’s next generation designers weigh in on the future of fashion week

‘Beneath the glamorous surface, a new generation of independent designers have been increasingly vocal about how difficult it is to not only launch, but maintain, a successful brand in New York City,’ wrote Nicole DeMarco her introduction to a series of interviews with the city’s rising talent, ahead of the September edition of New York Fashion Week. Talking to the designers behind Diotima, Willy Chavarria, Collina Strada, Meruert Tolegen, Theophilio and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen, she asked: what is the future of New York Fashion Week? And: can you still ‘make it’ in New York City?

READ: What is the future of New York Fashion Week? The city’s independent designers weigh in

Jony Ive on collaborating with Moncler

‘If you’re a proper designer, you can design many different forms,’ said Jony Ive about a foray into fashion, a collaboration between LoveFrom – Ive’s design agency – and outerwear behemoth Moncler. Catching up with Laura May Todd in Milan, Ive unpacks the unique collaboration, a shape-shifting, modular collection five years in the making. ‘I love the rigour of this kind of research,’ says Ive.

READ: Jony Ive unpacks his modular LoveFrom, Moncler outerwear collection

When it comes to legacy, the seminal German fashion designer Jil Sander ‘doesn’t like to presume’ how others might perceive her impact. ‘But “modernity” says a lot,’ she considers. ‘It’s a word that is rarely used these days.’

Sander’s career, which began with the opening of a Hamburg boutique in 1968 and the presentation of her first eponymous womenswear collection in 1973, has been defined by a relentless pursuit of modernity, honing a rigorous and minimal working wardrobe, nonetheless influenced by the midcentury elegance of her parent’s generation. The title of the first Jil Sander fragrance, ‘Pure’, launched in 1979, is another hint as to how she views her approach to design. A counterpoint to the hedonistic, overblown glamour of the 1980s, Sander’s vision was seductive in the way she reduced a garment to its absolute essence. By the 1990s, the rest of the fashion world would catch up.

‘Generally, I don’t like talking about my work,’ the designer admits, talking on the occasion of a new monograph, Jil Sander by Jil Sander, published by Munich-based publisher Prestel. ‘I’d rather demonstrate it, and let people try it on.’

Through the process of working on the book, however – an idea that had been percolating since the 2017 retrospective ‘Jil Sander: Present Tense’ at Frankfurt’s Museum of Applied Art – Sander found that it was illuminating to look backwards, and discuss, a career that has spanned over five decades. ‘I was surprised by the strong feminine side of my work,’ she says. ‘Some voices categorised me as a designer for business wear. But I was always interested in changing the general performance of men and women – I didn’t look for an androgynous appearance as such, as often happens in female businesswear. I wanted the gender element to be more subtle, I looked for a more intellectual sensuality.’

She traces this back to the 1950s and 1960s, the decades in which Sander grew up (she was born in 1943 in Wesselburen, on Germany’s North Sea coastline, during the Second World War). ‘Tailoring was still big in those days. People had a sense for cuts and patternmaking, and quality fabrics. What was lacking in my view was modernity – especially in women’s clothing. [I wanted] a total overhaul of patternmaking. The goal was to create class and understatement that were in sync with the age. My immediate personal motive for designing fashion was to escape the fallback on historical gender types in women’s fashion.’

Sander worked on the book personally, alongside Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom and German journalist and scholar Ingeborg Harms, who wrote the monograph’s various texts after extensive conversations with the designer. ‘I’d made a book to accompany “Present Tense”, but I needed another one to try out more experimental ways [of working]. We had to find a form for it, visually and regarding the text. I wanted it to look fresh and vivid, relating to today’s ways of looking at things.’

With the book’s design, Sander says she wants to replicate the experience of being at a runway show. The kaleidoscopic images – which comprise runway photographs, backstage documentary, campaigns, portraits and store interiors – are often tightly cropped in on details, turned on their side or spliced together into diptychs. ‘I wanted to recreate some of the excitement of being a front-row guest at a fashion show... Your eye wanders, you can’t take it all in, you zoom in on little things, you are overwhelmed by rhythm, sensuality, colour and movement.’

These images are divided into loose sections, delineated by ‘quieter’ white pages of text, which come together to tell a story of Jil Sander’s life and design philosophy (sections include ‘Light and Shadow’ and ‘Future Spaces’, alongside other more esoteric thematics, like ‘Stonehenge and Spiral’, a consideration of the use of extremes in her work). ‘Jil Sander does not think of her work in terms of a chronological autobiography,’ writes Harms. ‘She has always been focused on the present and looks at what lies ahead.’

‘The sections came about naturally,’ says Sander. ‘The imagery suggested them. We needed some order to make it all digestible.’

Ultimately, she defines the book as an ‘experiment’. ‘I knew that I didn’t want to achieve a classic coffee table book, so it was trial and error until we got there. In the end, the mood of the book is true to the frenzy which overtook us every time we prepared a show. Those hectic moments when it takes all the energy you have to stay on course. The book packages all the shows into one.’

In 1999, Prada would purchase a 75 per cent stake in the Jil Sander label; she resigned not long after, in 2000. Sander would return to her eponymous brand twice: in 2003, she undertook a two-year stint before being succeeded by Raf Simons, and in 2012, after his departure, she would remain until the presentation of a S/S 2014 collection, before leaving for good. Collaborations with Uniqlo – under the J+ line – have taken place since, most recently in November 2021. That same year, Jil Sander the brand was acquired by Renzo Rosso’s OTB Group. The current designers are wife-and-husband duo Lucie and Luke Meier. ‘I am following fashion, of course, but being a designer myself, I am a bit spoiled,’ says Sander.

As for why now felt like the right time to publish this career-spanning monograph, Sander says it has in fact been a long time coming. ‘I wished to publish it earlier, but it takes time to get things right. [Though] it may not be a bad moment now to bring it out, since we are overwhelmed by fashion information, and it helps to condense one’s message into the concise format of a book.’

In the book’s brief introduction, Sander elaborates further. ‘Looking back, I realise I was part of a broader reawakening that influenced my childhood in Hamburg,’ she says, referring to the rebuilding of Germany after the ravages of war and Nazi rule. ‘I was witness to a democratic reconstruction, a clearing away of anything standing in the way of a better future. We now find ourselves in another period of upheaval and renewal. I hope it inspired this book.’

Jil Sander by Jil Sander, designed by Irma Boom, texts by Ingeborg Harms, is published by Prestel. Out now in the UK (available from waterstones.com) and on 3 December 2024 in the United States (preorder at barnesandnoble.com/).

prestelpublishing.penguinrandomhouse.de

Soft curves, streamlined silhouettes and sleek fabrics: the A/W 2024 menswear collections were imbued with a new flamboyance, seeing classic ensembles reimagined with a sense of panache and performance.

There was Loewe, where creative director Jonathan Anderson looked towards the ‘iconography’ of Hollywood and the ‘collaged realness’ of social media with a collection adorned with theatrical flourishes. This included bows and beads alongside the delirious illustrations of Los Angeles-based artist Richard Hawkins (‘it’s all about different types of validation… how we perceive ourselves to the outside world,’ said Anderson at the time).

At Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello proposed louche, oversized tailoring and outerwear which recalled the 1980s silhouettes of American Gigolo. ‘Fluid, with an intentional slouch, an illusion of fabric turning liquid,’ said the designer. Meanwhile, Dolce & Gabbana’s latest menswear offering was titled ‘Sleek’: a ‘story of elegance and handmade… a sartorial essay,’ described Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of the largely black collection, which demonstrated their tailoring prowess.

Here, taken from the September 2024 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, photographer Matthieu Delbreuve and fashion editor David St John James put a series of these menswear looks centre stage in a series titled ‘Quiet on Set’.

Model: Indy van Opstal at Ford Models Paris. Casting: Svea Casting. Grooming: Chris Sweeney at One Represents using Sunday Riley and Sisley. Interiors: Olly Mason. Photography assistant: Kevin Ramos. Fashion assistant: Olivia Meghan. Interiors assistant: Archie Thomson. Production assistant: Minna Vauhkonen.

This article appears in the September 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

As seen in the September 2024 Style Issue of Wallpaper* – a reflection on a season defined by tactility, texture and touch – 12 of A/W 2024’s defining men’s and womenswear moments, from scrunched-up Miu Miu gloves and decadent Ferragamo feathers to seductive leather ties and cocooning balaclavas.

Soft touch (top left)

Enveloping textures, the pleasure of clothing on the skin: this season is all about tactility. Cue a melange of furry, fuzzy, soft-to-the-touch textures – whether the teddy-bear feel of a Dries Van Noten bag or the fluffy finish of a Carven skirt.

Match point (top right)

This season saw designers explore the co-ordinating accessory, albeit in an unexpected manner – at Gucci, the tone of a leather glove met that of a handbag, part of Sabato De Sarno’s ongoing investigation of colour and texture.

Parallel lines

The stripe is one of Missoni’s enduring motifs, often appearing in vivid colour combinations. Designer Filippo Grazioli paid homage to the pattern in playful style, like with these shaggy knit stripes, which adorn an elongated overcoat.

Glossed over

Slick, high-shine textures lent this season’s menswear a futuristic sheen. At Jil Sander, lustrous crackled-leather overcoats appeared as part of a collection that designers Lucie and Luke Meier described as an ‘immersive capsule, smooth and embracing’.

Back out

At Prada’s womenswear show, the backs of tailored jackets were sliced away, as if to expose their lining, appearing as part of a collection that saw co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons excavate historical silhouettes.

Hands on

At Miu Miu’s show, rolled-up sleeves and heavy, worn-leather gloves suggested a woman at work. Indeed, gloves – largely oversized and scrunched up – appeared throughout the collections, with iterations at The Row, Marni and Balenciaga.

Tied up

The tie was reimagined by a gamut of designers. At Prada, it formed part of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ riff on the corporate uniform, while at Bottega Veneta, ties were cut from leather in Matthieu Blazy’s typically seductive style.

Fine feather

A fascination with old Hollywood glamour permeated Maximilian Davis’ collections for Ferragamo. Flourishes of feathers sprouted from necklines or heeled pumps – an ode, said Davis, to the liberatory dress codes of the 1920s.

Slim chance

Menswear designers provided a long and lean riposte to the oversized silhouette that has dominated recent seasons. Silvia Venturini Fendi was one such voice, presenting slim, straight-cut tailoring, inspired by the contrast between ‘town and country’.

Hood times

The idea of protection featured prominently, with designers creating silhouettes that wrapped and enveloped. At Issey Miyake, balaclavas appeared as part of a collection that saw Satoshi Kondo explore the instinctual ‘act of clothing the human body’.

Second skin

This season’s slick boots offer up a glamorous way of protecting the body as the temperature drops. Such is the case with this pair by Daniel Lee, whose latest collection for Burberry is inspired by the ‘heritage of the British outdoors’.

Buckle up

A defined waistline added a nostalgic elegance to the season’s menswear silhouette, whether in nipped-waist tailoring, tie-fastening overcoats or eye-catching belts, like those at Prada, which were perhaps A/W 2024’s most covetable accessory.

Models: Jimai Hoth at PRM Agency, Mohammed Banze at Wilhelmina. Casting: Ikki Casting at WSM. Set design: Kei Yoshino at Bryant Artists. Hair: Mayuko Nakae using Oribe. Make-up: Sunao Takahashi at Saint Luke using Chanel Fall-Winter 2024 Make-up Collection and No.1 de Chanel Skincare. Manicure: Sabina Uzunovic at Snow Creatives using Kure Bazaar. Photography assistants: Callum Su, Joshua Hippolyte.

This article appears in the September 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

A charred desert of Murano-glass cacti, a damask-curtained boudoir, a simulacrum of an art gallery – this season’s runway sets were an exercise in the theatre of fashion. Here, we select 12 of the very best runway sets and show spaces of A/W 2024 fashion month, which concluded in Paris last week.

Best runway sets of A/W 2024

Saint Laurent

For Anthony Vaccarello’s sensually charged A/W 2024 show, a boudoir-like mood was conjured by the show set, which comprised two vast circular rooms lined with emerald damask curtains. The curtains, said Vaccarello, were a nod to those found in the house’s historic haute couture salon on Paris’ Avenue Marceau. 

Read our review of the show here.

Jil Sander

Designers Lucie and Luke Meier said that this season they were thinking about sound and the way it influences our ’emotions, desires and needs’. As such, the warehouse space on the outskirts of Milan had been transformed into a green-toned ’smooth and immersive capsule’, populated by a series of blown-up cobalt-blue horns.

Read our review of the show here.

Louis Vuitton

Nicolas Ghesquière returned to the Louvre’s Cour Carrée for his tenth-anniversary show for Louis Vuitton, the location of his debut as creative director for the house back in 2014. This time, a dramatic installation by artist Philippe Parreno – made in collaboration with film production designer James Chinlund and sound designer Nicolas Becker – centred around an enormous orb, which crackled and flashed as the show began.

Read our review of the show here.

Prada

A continuation of the menswear show in January, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ latest OMA-designed show set featured a lush forest floor – complete with springs of real water, ferns, grass, pebbles and soil – encased beneath a gridded floor of futuristic clear perspex, to extraordinary effect. 

Read our review of the show here.

Bottega Veneta

Matthieu Blazy collaborated with Cassina to organise a special edition of Le Corbusier’s LC14 Cabanon stool – here in burnt wood – for the 350 guests attending his A/W 2024 show. In the formerly industrial Milanese space, they were combined with a burnt wood floor and enormous Murano-glass cacti to create a ’barren’ desert-like landscape inspired by Calabria in the south of Italy. Together, it provided an apt backdrop for a show celebrating regeneration and resilience. ’In a world on fire, there is something very human in the simple act of dressing,’ he said. 

Read our review of the show here. 

Loewe

The ’small but intense’ paintings of Albert York provided the backdrop for Jonathan Anderson’s latest Loewe collection, which subverted aristocratic dress codes in the designer’s typically idiosyncratic style. As such, it was the largest exhibition of the American painter’s work outside of the United States, where his devoted following included the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. 

Read our review of the show here.

Dior

Continuing a tradition of collaborating with international women artists on her show sets, at the centre of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s A/W 2024 runway was a series of sculptures by Indian artist Shakuntala Kulkarni. Evoking ceremonial figures of women, created from cages of cane, the house said they capture a feeling of ’protection and transformation’.

Read our review of the show here.

Hermès

Hermès’ A/W 2024 show came complete with a downpour: as the show began, rain fell from the ceiling of the Garde Républicaine space, providing a dramatic backdrop to Nadège Vanhee’s latest collection, which was titled ’The Rider’.  ‘Astride a horse or a motorcycle… boldly she rides on,’ said Hermès. 

Read our review of the show here.

Acne Studios

A series of blown-up armchairs and footstools crafted from recycled black rubber tiles provided the centrepiece to a full-throttle collection from Acne Studios. They were created by Villu Jaanisoo, an Estonian artist who lent the existing pieces for the show. ’I was basically deep into a “racing” mode [last year], into everything related to racing, and I stumbled across these amazing pieces,’ Acne Studios creative director Jonny Johannson told Wallpaper*. ‘They symbolise the mood I was trying to create, and they do so in a modern way.’

Read more about the Acne Studios show set here and read our review of the show here.

Balenciaga

At Balenciaga, floor-to-ceiling screens surrounded the runway, an attempt to capture the dizzying feeling of scrolling on your phone. Created by Demna alongside Berlin-based studio Sub, the flashing AI-created images – which spanned photorealistic natural landscapes and glimmering cityscapes before descending into glitchy internet-style graphics – reflected the eclectic nature of the collection, which featured DIY ’one-minute’ dresses made from a collage of other garments. 

Read our review of the show here.

Chanel

The centrepiece of Chanel’s A/W 2024 show was an enormous curved screen which bisected the interior of the Grand Palais Éphémère and played a short film starring Penelope Cruz and Brad Pitt as a pair of lovers. Around it circled a wooden runway designed to evoke the boardwalk at the French seaside town Deauville, where Gabrielle ’Coco’ Chanel opened her first millinery store. 

Read our review of the show here.

Fendi

Vast drapes of silk, in various sorbetto-hued tones, divided Fendi’s Via Solari showspace into a series of more intimate ’rooms’ to showcase Kim Jones latest womenswear collection for the house. They recalled those found in Roman statuary, one of the inspirations for this season’s collection in a nod to Fendi’s home city of Rome.

Read our review of the show here.

Lucie and Luke Meier’s vision for Jil Sander has been one of good taste, precision and restraint, enlivened by flourishes of unexpected adornment or poetic moments of handcraft. ‘[There’s] a nice tension between something very authentic, traditional, but then, skewed in a very modern way,’ Luke Meier told Wallpaper* last February. Then, he was talking about the brand’s A/W 2023 collection, though it is a statement that could apply to the pair’s approach to their tenure so far. 

Such is the certainly the case for the pair’s new Jil Sander store, located on London’s Bond Street, which first opened in November 2023, though was inaugurated with a series of events last week. Conceived in partnership with Casper Mueller Kneer – an architectural practice with a rich history of collaboration on the design of fashion stores with brands including Saint Laurent, Celine and Lemaire – the store promises an ‘intimate’ journey into the Meiers’ Jil Sander universe, and is as meticulous and thoughtful as the pair’s collections. 

Inside Lucie and Luke Meier’s new Jil Sander store in London

‘We reached out and the initial meeting we had was just an exchange, which I think is the way we start anything we do, whether it’s an architectural project, or collections,’ says Luke Meier of collaborating with the architects. ’They were familiar with Jil Sander and there was just an understanding on both sides, which always makes things move faster.’ Much of this process was intuitive, adds Lucie Meier, who says the store’s aesthetic – the first of a new concept, which will continue with a new outpost in Ginza, Tokyo later in the year – emerged from ’an inspiration board, where we collect ideas, or materials we get inspired by.’

Indeed, materiality is at the heart of the project. Stone is the primary element of the store’s construction, with floors, walls and a staircase leading down to the basement floor hewn from travertine marble, some with geometric scored surfaces, others left with the material’s more natural undulating textures. ’The orientation of the veins, the continuation or disruption of patterns, it’s really a textural approach, but without overbearing the space,’ explains architect Olaf Kneer, who is co-founder of Casper Mueller Kneer alongside Marianne Mueller. ‘The beauty of this particular travertine is that in these couple of blocks of stone we found a lot of blue, which is something quite unusual in that it almost feels artificial.’

Mueller adds that stone surfaces are a solution to the fact that the contents of the store will change season on season, or even week on week (the architects note that the products currently on display are fairly monochrome, but that there are often bold flourishes of colour in the Meiers’ collections). ‘It provides a setting for the product to really be in the foreground,’ she says. ’[There is] a slight roughness to it, which gives the space an almost geological quality, as if it’s been carved from a single piece.’

‘I think that‘s the challenge – it’s a really evolving environment, because everything changes constantly, [whether] colour, texture, material,’ adds Luke Meier. ‘So in a way, the presentation of it all has to stand up no matter what happens in here. We all enjoyed this of making something not necessarily homogenous, but something that felt like one idea, rather than a mishmash of different surfaces.’

An inspiration for this approach was Carlo Scarpa, the Italian modernist architect who was best known for his monolithic marble and stone interventions in Venice. ‘I think he came up in the conversations about materiality, more than anything; we spoke a little bit about his water drainage systems in Venice, and the ideas of different levels [of stone],’ says Luke Meier. Mueller adds that Scarpa is evoked in ’conceptual ideas’ rather than anything more formal, ’a series of statements that run across the store levels, the ideas of levels and horizons – that became really important in thinking about the space.’

‘In a way, it’s how we work with fabric,’ says Luke Meier. ‘Because you can do all kinds of things with one fibre. It’s just really how you treat it, how you finish it, how you spin it out; the structure, the weaving, the brushing.’

Images of artists’ studios, particularly in the soft interplay of light and surface, were also part of the inspiration for the space. A focus on small details, meanwhile – Lucie Meier points out the gently curved edge of the marble shelving on the basement floor – is designed to reflect the pair’s Jil Sander collections, which often reveal their construction only when off the hanger and onto the body. ‘We felt like we needed to enrich the space with little details, because that felt important in the language of Jil Sander,’ says Mueller, noting that it sets the space apart from being something monolithic, to something more intimate. ‘They are maybe details you don’t see if you aren’t looking for them,’ says Lucie Meier. ’But the accumulation of them all gives it a different feel,’ adds Luke Meier.

Indeed, despite the coolness of the material, the store itself manages to retain a mood of intimacy – a reflection of the Meiers’ continuing desire to shift the sometimes austere connotations of Jil Sander towards something softer, more poetic. ’I think the last thing we wanted is an intimidating store,’ says Lucie Meier. ‘We want people to stay a while; to enjoy the space. I think that’s why upstairs we wanted to divide the space with volumes [of marble] to divide the space to create more private moments, rather than one big space where you feel exposed.’

As for what feels like a continuing luxury retail renaissance – just a few doors down, Gucci recently revealed an enormous new store set in a converted art gallery, alongside numerous new openings and renovations in the area – the Meiers note that their own desire to open a store like this centres on a want to build a tangible world for their consumer to get lost in. ’I don’t think online shopping can ever replace the feeling of being inside of a store – it’s about the experience,’ says Lucie Meier.

’It’s like the fashion show,’ adds Luke Meier. ‘It was the same conversation during Covid. When shows had to shift online, you had people doing films, and all of these other ideas [to replace the runway show]. But when you are in the room, you're in the space, it doesn’t compare. It’s a sensory experience that you can’t replicate.’

Jil Sander, 134 Bond Street, London, W1S 2TF.

jilsander.com

January marks the beginning not only of a new year, but a new season in style – gone are the winter collections of last year, in are the S/S 2024 collections, and with them the promise of brighter days ahead.

As part of Wallpaper’s Design Awards 2024 issue, we select the winning men’s and womenswear collections of S/S 2024 – and their standout looks – which will define a season of dressing ahead. These span Sabato de Sarno’s sensual new vision for Gucci (the designer called it a ’story of richness and lust... of sweat, dancing and singing’, and is pictured top left), the eclectic oppositions of Dries Van Noten’s womenswear, and Maximilian Davis’ expertly reduced Ferragamo tailoring. 

Winning collections came too from Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons at Prada, where they reckoned with beauty and craft, the sinuous lines of Kim Jones’ Fendi, or Matthieu Blazy’s extraordinary riffs on the quotidien at Bottega Veneta (here encapsulated his version of a working man’s tie, recrafted in leather). Or Lucie and Luke Meier’s gently oversized men’s Jil Sander tailoring, adorned with glimmering crystal broaches (pictured top right). 

The various looks are captured by London-based photographer Daisy Walker, and styled by Wallpaper* fashion and style director Jason Hughes. 

The standout looks of S/S 2024, selected by Wallpaper*

Courrèges

Dolce & Gabbana

Dries Van Noten

Acne Studios

Hermès

Wooyoungmi

Ferragamo

Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

Givenchy

Alexander McQueen

Carven

Isabel Marant

Bottega Veneta

Miu Miu

Paul Smith

Fendi

Dior

Prada

Balenciaga

Marni

Valentino

Loewe 

Models: Kerolyn Soares at IMG, Aaron Shandel at Wilhelmina. Casting: Ikki Casting at The Art Board. Hair: Adam Garland using Authentic Beauty Concept. Make-up: Jo Banach using Chanel Les Beiges Winter Glow and No.1 de Chanel Red Camellia Exfoliating Mask. Interiors: Olly Mason. Set build: London Art Makers. Photography assistants: Chloe Yates, Zillah Rauter. Fashion assistants: Kris Bergfeldt, Samela Gjozi. Hair assistant: Annabella Hudgell. Interiors assistant: Archie Thomson. Post-production: Lasso Studio. 

A version of this article appears in the February 2024 issue of Wallpaper* – dedicated to the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024 – available in print from 4 January, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

For quite some time, the necktie has been relegated to an artefact of a bygone era, one of stuffy corporate wear and forced formality that in a post-pandemic world looked largely left behind.

It is with some surprise, then, that the tie has had something of a comeback in recent seasons, its death knell stilled by a new generation of designers who are using the classic accessory to represent something altogether more irreverent – a symbol of the past which in their hands is ripe for reinvention. 

The return of the shirt and tie

It might be in part down to the influence of Matthieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, who featured a series of nappa-leather ties as part of a playful riff on corporate wear in his A/W 2023 collection. In its unexpected fabrication – which conjured a satisfying frisson of kink – it continued his desire to elevate the quotidian into extraordinary and seductive expressions of design.

Much of the tie’s appeal lies in its shape-shifting ability and multitude of iterations – whether the playful polka dots of Paul Smith (clashed here with a striped shirt and 1970s-tinged tailoring) or the heritage-inspired checks of Margaret Howell (team with a V-neck sweater for a contemporary exercise in layering).

At contemporary British tiemaker Marwood, meanwhile, the 2010-founded brand continues its desire to reinvent the accessory with distinctly modern designs in woven silk and British lace, each made in England. Here, their flecked tie in silk slub is combined with a vivid blue zip-up sweater by Jil Sander to striking graphic effect

A version of this story appears in the January 2024 Next Generation Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!

Eclectic isn’t a word often associated with Lucie and Luke Meier’s collections for Jil Sander. Modernity, precision, purity – earthy, even – sure. But eclectic? Not quite as we know it. Yet, when it comes to describing their A/W 2023 collection, that’s the word they both immediately call on.

‘It'll be quite unexpected,’ hints Luke three days before the show when Wallpaper* sat down with the husband-and-wife duo to talk about their forthcoming Milan fashion week show. ‘You're not ready for this one yet.’

Fast forward to Friday night in Milan, and the designers had been true to their word. Crushed aluminium flowers, intarsia-knit cherry and sweet motifs, acid green gingham, hot pink needle-punch tassels, all-over silver sequins – as intended, this was a heady infusion of out-of-the-blue ideas.

‘It’s quite unexpected’: Jil Sander A/W 2023

The starting point of the collection is a particularly personal one for the duo. Like the rest of the world, in recent years the Meiers were faced with time of reflection and introspection – the fruits of which formed the starting point for this collection.

‘We were talking about before working [together], before even going to school, and what were the reasons we were attracted to this kind of work and we landed on the mid-to-late 90s mood,’ explains Luke. ‘Looking back, there was this really interesting attitude and exchange of information happening. [It was] also the first time that technology started really creeping into your life and affecting your lifestyle. But there was this real openness and positivity, you know? Whether you talk about it politically speaking, or just anything to do with technology, it was quite positive. So, we kind of like that mood… and the idea of a feeling of positivity [towards] the future.’

At 41 and 47 respectively, the period encapsulated Lucie and Luke’s formative years. Luke cites his time living in London watching Goldie DJ at the Blue Note in Hoxton just as DJ Shadow’s trailblazing first album Endtroducing….. was released and Björk was taking on Brit-pop royalty in the charts as bearing a heavy influence on his design process.

‘There was a lot of music around that time that was really, really powerful and what was just cool is that was there was a very progressive attitude. It didn’t feel like anything was too formulaic,’ he says. ‘At that point, it was like, let's try it! Interesting things seemed to resonate in a good way and people were all about mixing [things up. For example] hip hop with dance music… the new ideas of production were exciting.’

The sentiment bounced off the catwalk on Friday night to the bellowing tones of Björk’s remixed All Neon Like as the pair combined traditionally incongruous construction techniques and peppered the collection with trippy emblems of the era. On dresses and coats, wool felt was digitally printed and welded with a silk hemline and for knitwear and outerwear the finest mohair had been processed to seem synthetic.

Two of the 90s most successful fashion trends were subtly subverted on, too. Motorcycle motifs arrived via sculptural leather jackets and trousers embossed with the brand’s logo, while models were styled wearing streamlined helmet liners. Elsewhere, parka coat silhouettes – arguably the adopted uniform of the 90s – was crafted from recycled polyester and real glass.

‘We are always rigorous with our development and research into materials,’ explains Luke. ‘It’s this kind of nice tension between something that's a very, very authentic, traditional material, but then, skewed in a very modern way.’

Capturing the sensation of those formative years of freedom in a way that resonates in a luxury context was delivered with a confidence that comes from experience on Friday night. Before joining forces at Jil Sander, Lucie worked in the design teams at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton before taking an interim director role at Christian Dior. After an eight-year run as design director for Supreme, Luke successfully established his own label OAMC.

‘We don't do anything too conceptual in the end, there's still a reality to what we’d like to work on,’ he continues. ‘We like making real things that will really exist in the world. We don't really enjoy just the idea of concept or image for the sake of it. Everything has to be just outstanding, that’s just the minimum threshold.’

Marking six years in their joint creative director roles at the house this year, the pair clearly have the same burning desire to continue to innovate.

‘Sometimes we feel like we've just started and there’s so much to do,’ smiles Lucie.

‘We’re just lucky to have a medium that we can express ourselves through,’ agrees Luke. ‘Collections are an interesting thing, because it’s a little bit like a timestamp on a period, right? We’re always evolving as people and our ideas are always progressing are always changing. Fashion is exhilarating, because it’s a dialogue with what's going on in the world.’

jilsander.com

Join us as we take a flick through the fashion books currently taking pride of place on the Wallpaper* style desk – from visually enticing monographs and photographic tomes to limited-edition titles, they will act as elegant accompaniments to the coffee table or bookshelf of any style savant.

Here, selected by the Wallpaper* style team, a comprehensive guide to the best fashion books – including a lush new tome on the work of Irish designer Simone Rocha, an exploration of how directors dress from indie film producers A24 and a rare monograph from seminal designer Jil Sander.

The best fashion books for style savants

‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’ (Prestel, 2024)

Seminal German designer Jil Sander’s new monograph, ‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’, sees her consider an influential career with a kaleidoscopic visual journey through her collections. Hoping to evoke the energy of a runway show, the colourful images are curated alongside designer Irma Boom. ‘The mood of the book is true to the frenzy which overtook us every time we prepared a show,’ she told Wallpaper* in a rare conversation. ‘I knew that I didn’t want to achieve a classic coffee table book, so it was trial and error until we got there. The book packages all the shows into one.’ Read more.

‘Jil Sander by Jil Sander’, published by Prestel, is available from waterstones.com and barnesandnoble.com.

‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’ (Assouline, 2024)

Celebrating 100 years in business, Loro Piana’s luxurious new tome, ‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’, is a ‘story of excellence, savoir-faire, and passion for the extraordinary, passed down for six generations,’ according to author Nick Foulkes. Recounting the history of the Italian house, which is best known for its work in the so-called ‘noble fibres’ of cashmere, alpaca and vicuña, it takes readers on a journey through the family’s early years as wool traders, all the way to its status as the luxury mega-brand it is today. Part of Assouline’s ‘ultimate’ collection, it is housed in a case covered in Loro Piana Tela Sergio fabric and is entirely hand-bound.

‘Loro Piana: Master of Fibres’, published by Prestel, is available from assouline.com.

‘Simone Rocha’ (Rizzoli, 2024)

A new Rizzoli-published book explores the work of Irish designer Simone Rocha, who since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2010 has become one of London fashion’s most celebrated designers for her romantic, folklore-infused collections which straddle the sweet and the subversive. The lush tome – which draws on Rocha’s publishing expertise, having released numerous zines over the last decade – features an expansive catalogue of imagery, alongside contributions from figures including artist Cindy Sherman, photographer Petra Collins and the critic Tim Blanks. It also pays ode to two eternal influences to Rocha: the artist Louise Bourgeois, and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo.

‘Simone Rocha’, published by Rizzoli, is available from waterstones.com and barnesandnoble.com.

‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ (Dover Street Market)

Róisín Pierce calls her art book ‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ a ‘love note to femininity, creativity, craft, and motherhood in its myriad forms’ – much like the Irish designer’s collections, which weave ancient Irish craft with a romantic vision of womanhood. Comprising a series of images photographed for the project by Jody Rogac of figures like Serena Motola, Frances von Hofmannsthal, Sinead O’Brien and the designer’s mother, Angie Pierce, the all-white ‘pocket book’ (‘a keepsake, a token’) also features interviews and poetry. ‘Imparting their wisdom throughout, their thoughts and views are allowed to flourish, unfiltered,’ says Pierce of the subjects. ‘Among the pages, they invoke the romantic nostalgia of the Gardenia, the sweetness of living in harmony with an uninvited mouse, the joy of being a voice in a choir, and the hope in resistance and revolt. There is no formula to femininity, and this book welcomes its abundance.’

‘O lovely one, girl that fell from a star’ is available exclusively at Dover Street Market Paris (doverstreetmarketparis.com).

‘How Directors Dress’ (A24, 2024)

Indie film production agency A24 adds to its burgeoning imprint with ‘How Directors Dress’, an exploration of the working uniforms of film’s best-known auteurs, from Sofia Coppola to Spike Lee. Comprising a series of essays – contributors include Hagop Kourounian (aka @directorfits), Rachel Tashjian, Lynn Yaeger and more – alongside archival imagery, A24 promise to use clothing ‘to tell exciting new stories about directors, their lives, their movies, and the times in which they were made’. The 256-page book also features a foreword from director Joanna Hogg, and an afterword from legendary Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.

‘How Director’s Dress’, published by A24, is available from shop.a24films.com.

‘Norbert Schoerner Prada Archive: 1998-2002’ (IDEA Books, 2024)

A new book published by IDEA, ‘Prada Archive 1998-2002’, documents the campaigns photographed for the Italian fashion house by German image-maker Norbert Schoerner. ‘I hear all the time, from art director friends, that [these are] the campaigns they see most frequently on moodboards,’ Schoerner told Wallpaper*, speaking on the legacy of his work with Prada. ‘It's a great compliment, to have had that sort of impact on photography, but by no means could we have anticipated that 20 years later [the campaigns] would have such a ubiquitous presence in visual culture.’ Art directed by Jonny Lu, Schoerner’s clean, hyper-real imagery is collated in the book, featuring era-defining models Angela Lindvall, Freddy Drabble, Mateo Renoir and David Annand. Read more.

Norbert Schoerner: Prada 1998–2002’s first run of 750 copies have sold out, though the book will be distributed to global retailers in the coming weeks. You can sign up at the IDEA Books website to be notified when new copies are available.

ideanow.online

Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book (Rizzoli, 2024)

‘Born in Oasi Zegna’ celebrates the history of the Italian house, tracing its roots back to the Biella Alps in Piedmont, northern Italy where Ermenegildo Zegna opened his first wool mill in 1910. Now designated a natural territory, the locale marks not only the birthplace of Zegna, but also a symbol of its ongoing dedication to the natural world: since the mill’s opening, Ermenegildo would begin planting conifer trees to foster the area’s ecosystem, which now number over 500,000. Combining archival imagery and contemporary illustrations, the book combines dramatic images of the Oasi Zegna landscapes with archival imagery from the house, alongside illustrations by Paolo Bacilieri, Cecilia Carlstedt and Giuseppe Ragazzini. Accompanying texts, meanwhile, are contributed by Italian journalist Chidozie Obasi. Read more.

’Born in Oasi Zegna: The Book’, with texts by Chidozie Obasi, is available now from zegna.com.

Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories (Thames & Hudson, 2024)

’Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories’ grants a closer look at one of the French house’s defining accessories, the silk scarf. A fascination of Christian Dior which has been adopted by the various designers who have helmed the house in the decades since – most recently, current womenswear creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri – the Maria Luisa Frisa-edited tome provides an ’atlas’ of memorable Dior scarves, organised thematically. These include ‘Paris’, ’Optical Effects’ and ’Cosmogonies’, among others, with accompanying photographs by Brigitte Niedermair. The result, says Dior, is ’an enchanting portfolio... a pluralistic odyssey’.

’Dior Scarves: Fashion Stories’, edited by Maria Luisa Frisa, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Grace Wales Bonner: Dream in the Rhythm (MoMA, 2024)

Last November (2023), British fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner was the latest participant in MoMA’s ‘Artist’s Choice’ series, which drafts an eclectic raft of creatives to curate an exhibition of their choice at the New York museum. Wales Bonner’s was titled ’Spirit Movers’, and comprised works which centre on sound, movement, performance and style ’in the African diaspora and beyond’. An accompanying book, published by MoMA, is titled ’Dream in the Rhythm’ and is deemed by Wales Bonner ’an archive of soulful expression’.

‘In this exhibition, ”Spirit Movers”, I was thinking a lot about what becomes embedded into artworks and materials,’ Wales Bonner told Wallpaper* when the exhibition opened. ‘I was thinking a lot about materials that have some kind of past life or the passing of time being evident in artworks. One of the things that has always been fascinating to me is how sound can be captured through different forms.’

‘Grace Wales Bonner: Dream in the Rhythm’, published by MoMA, is available from Waterstones and MoMA Design Store.

Fila: Timelapse (Rizzoli, 2024)

Fila: Timelapse, published by Rizzoli, provides an unorthodox, genre- and era-traversing history of the Italian sportswear brand and its enduring influence. Dreamt up by Italian journalist and fashion critic Angelo Flaccavento, the aim of the intriguing tome is to ’tunnel both past and present into a single, forward-looking vision’ including archival imagery of figures like Björn Borg – the tennis player would put Fila on the map – alongside essays, fiction and poetry from contributors including Charlie Fox, Silvia Calderoni, Jeph Burton, Rahim Attarzadeh and artists Karl Holmqvist and HB Hoyo. A foreword, meanwhile, comes courtesy of Fendi menswear and accessories creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi. Read more.

’Fila: Timelapse’, conceived by Angelo Flaccavento, is available to pre-order from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble (out 30 April, 2024).

Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022 (Taschen, 2024)

Conceived by Midori Kitamura, one of Issey Miyake’s longtime associates, a new Taschen-published book provides a comprehensive guide to the Japanese designer’s innovative and imaginative collections. Visually rich, the book collates the most important moments from across the late designer’s expansive career. including the development of his signature polyester micro-pleats (which would later become Pleats Please Issey Miyake) alongside collaborations with photographers from Yuriko Takagi to Irving Penn. ‘Miyake liked to convey his ideas visually, so we used that framework as our starting point,’ Kitamura told Wallpaper*. ‘Miyake left us with a clear roadmap to follow, going forward. We have and will always carry this map in our pockets as we move forward, always carrying his dreams and his vision into the future.’ Read more.

‘Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’, initiated and conceived by Midori Kitamura, is available now Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses (Thames & Hudson, 2024)

A new book, Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses (Thames & Hudson), offers an unprecedented glimpse into the dramatic residences of the iconoclastic German fashion designer, best known for his tenures are Chloé, Fendi, and, of course, Chanel. The glossy coffee-table tome features a photographic portfolio of the various homes, from a gleaming Memphis-filled apartment in Monaco to 51 rue de l’Université in Paris, an opulent 18th-century hôtel particular he called home for several decades. Among it all, an extraordinary array of objets and art, a reflection of the eclectic inspirations behind his prolific career in fashion. Read more.

‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses’, with text by Patrick Mauriès and Marie Kalt, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Gabrielle Chanel (V&A Publishing, 2024)

Gabrielle ’Coco’ Chanel is the subject of an expansive new book published by the V&A to coincide with its blockbuster exhibition on the influential French couturier, Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto, which opened last September (until 26 February 2024). Titled, simply, ’Gabrielle Chanel’, the book spans her six-decade long career and pays particular focus to the garments themselves, which would mark a liberated new era for women’s fashion.

‘It’s about chic, simple clothing, looking at movement and the body,’ Oriole Cullen, who co-edited the book alongside curating the exhibition, told Wallpaper*. ’These elements she creates – the jersey, the little black dress, the suit – these are the things she comes back to time and again and refines them.’

‘Gabrielle Chanel’, edited by Oriole Cullen and Connie Karol Burks, is available now from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections (Thames & Hudson, 2023)

Thames & Hudson’s ‘Catwalk’ series was made for the style enthusiast: each edition turns its lens on a fashion house or designer and documents their entire runway oeuvre, from Prada to Versace. The latest addition is Givenchy, which explores not only house founder Hubert de Givenchy’s tenure – defined by a demure Parisian elegance encapsulated by his seminal gowns for Audrey Hepburn – but those who followed at the house, including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Riccardo Tisci and Clare Waight Keller, alongside Matthew M Williams, who exited Givenchy in 2023. ‘In all its purity, I think Hubert created one of the most complex legacies in fashion, because it reaches far beyond dressmaking,’ explained Anders Christian Madsen, who co-authored the book, to Wallpaper*. ‘It’s synonymous with sophistication and good taste, and those ideas are hard to mess with.’ Read more.

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections, featuring texts by Alexandre Samson and Anders Christian Madsen, is available at Waterstonesand Barnes & Noble.

Yves Saint Laurent: Gold (Abrams, 2023)

The couturier Yves Saint Laurent was well-known for his bold, expressive use of colour, which included gold, a hue he called ’magical’. ’When reflecting a woman, it’s the colour of the sun,’ he once said. This magpie-like fascination is explored in Yves Saint Laurent: Gold, which provides the accompaniment to the exhibition ‘Gold, les ors d’Yves Saint Laurent’, which took place at Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris in late 2022. It holds up as a standalone book, though, featuring suitably glamourous imagery starring a phalanx of Saint Laurent muses, from Catherine Deneuve to Zizi Jeanmaire.

Yves Saint Laurent: Gold, featuring texts by Yvane Jacob and Elsa Janssen, is available at Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Shoes A-Z, the Manolo Blahnik Edition (Taschen, 2023)

Shoes A-Z, which explores the enormous archive of footwear at The Museum at FIT in New York City, has long been one of been of fashion’s most comprehensive tomes on the history of the accessory. A new edition of the landmark book – which features designs from Ferragamo, Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood and many more – comes complete with three prints by perhaps fashion’s best-known shoemaker, Manolo Blahnik. The limited-edition version – no doubt a collector’s item in the years to come – is completed with a ribbon-fastened portfolio to store the Fabriano prints, providing the perfect gift for any shoe aficionado.

Shoes A-Z. The Collection of The Museum at FIT. Manolo Blahník Edition, an edition of 1000, is available from Taschen.

Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy (Gallimard, 2023)

‘Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy,’ is a Gallimard-published book – created in association with Dior – which charts the couturier and painter’s lives in a unique joint biography. First meeting in the 1920s, the ‘designer of dreams’ Christian Dior and ‘painter of despair’ Christian Bérard became close friends and collaborators despite their contrasting personalities and approaches, with Bérard going on to decorate Dior’s first boutique, Colifichets, on Avenue Montaigne (the design included toile de Jouy motifs, now a house emblem). Alongside images by Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Lee Miller, and Irving Penn, as well as pictures of archival documents and objects, the book is a richly crafted narrative about the pair’s unique relationship. ‘All of Dior is in Bérard, all of Bérard is in Dior,’ says author Laurence Benaïm. ‘This book is not a two-headed biography – it is a meandering in the heart of a history haunted by dreams, affinities, and secrets sewn in the lining of vanishing time.’

Christian Dior, Christian Bérard. Joyful Melancholy, by Laurence Bénaïm, is available now from Waterstone’sand Barnes and Noble.

Thom Browne (Phaidon, 2023)

Thom Browne’s first monograph is released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the American designer’s eponymous label, featuring both original imagery of archival looks as well as explorations of Browne’s theatrical runway shows. Photographer Johnny Dufort has collaborated on the project, while Andrew Bolton – head curator of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – curates the various looks and provides the book’s introduction. The book is a design object in itself: enclosed in a clamshell box, the Irma Boom-designed tome features Browne’s grosgrain striped ribbon as a bookmark. ‘This is a must-have for any Thom Browne fan,’ says Phaidon. Read more.

Thom Browne: The 20th Anniversary Book, by Andrew Bolton and Thom Browne, is available from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

Chopova Lowena: Conversations with Angels (2023) 

Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena – the designers behind London-based fashion label Chopova Lowena – release their third book this July, titled ‘Conversations with Angels’ and starring actress Chloë Sevigny. In it, Sevigny stars as a version of the Snow Queen from the Danish fairytale (here reimagined by poet Precious Okoyomo), one of Lowena’s favourite stories as a child, while the pair’s A/W 2023 collection, inspired by 70s skiwear, appears throughout the Charlotte Wales-shot book. ‘We love creating books because it gives us a chance to completely express our vision in such a meaningful way,’ say Chopova and Lowena. ‘This one was such a special one, working with our long-time collaborator Charlotte Wales and the incredible Chloë Sevigny. It was so exciting to work with Chloë on Conversations with Angels, we are huge fans of her work and it was a dream to work with her.’

Limited edition.

Dior by Raf Simons (Assouline, 2023)

Published by Assouline, a new tome celebrates Raf Simons’ acclaimed tenure at Dior, where he was creative director from 2012 to 2015. Part of a six-part series exploring the Parisian house’s various artistic directors, the book documents Simons’ ‘infinitely contemporary purity’ which married the house’s heritage with a subversive modernity which has defined the Belgian designer’s work since the founding of his eponymous label in 1995. It also explores the passions that Simons shares with Christian Dior – architecture, art and gardens among them – and features ‘dress portraits’ by Laziz Hamani and texts from fashion journalist Tim Blanks.

Dior by Raf Simons, by Tim Blanks, is available from dior.com

Burberry (Assouline, 2023)

Burberry entered a new chapter last month when Yorkshire-born designer Daniel Lee began his tenure at the brand with a debut collection that drew inspiration from eclectic British dress codes (‘you walk down the street and you’re surrounded by people from so many walks of life, all living together,’ he said after the show at London Fashion Week). He also looked towards the British institution’s roots in functionality – Burberry was founded in 1856 to create clothing which would protect its wearer from the country’s unpredictable weather – a heritage which is celebrated with the publication of new book ‘Burberry’ (Assouline). Across five chapters, fashion critic Alexander Fury charts Burberry’s 165-year history for an exploration of ‘innovation, adventure and Britishness’ alongside 200 illustrations. Says Carly Eck, Burberry brand curator, archive: ‘This book, the only one to be endorsed by the brand in recent times, presents a panorama of the company’s extraordinary heritage, which deserves to be widely celebrated. It’s the stuff of legends.’

Burberry, by Alexander Fury, is available from burberry.com.

Macro (Jil Sander, 2023)

The latest in a series of books created by Lucie and Luke Meier in collaboration with international artists and photographers, ‘Macro’ sees the designers unite with Chris Rhodes who captures the brand’s A/W 2022 collection in a number of still-life images. A long-time collaborator, Rhodes reveals the unseen details of the Meiers’ collections – the aluminium heel of a black pump, lapis lazuli stones in a silver necklace, a heart-shaped ornament on a handbag – in the intimate images. ‘Macro is the testimony of a journey, of an idea that adds a different dimension to the purpose of Lucie and Luke Meier’s work,’ say the brand, ‘a suggestion on how design can be unconventionally perceived and displayed’.

Limited edition.

Chloé Catwalk (Thames and Hudson, 2022)

Coinciding with the house’s 70th anniversary, a new Thames & Hudson-published book provides a comprehensive history of Chloé and those who have shaped it – from founder Gaby Aghion to a young Karl Lagerfeld, and the slew of influential female designers who have helmed the house in the years since, among them Martine Sitbon, Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney and current creative director Gabriela Hearst. Collating over 130 collections and 1,100 looks, ‘Chloé Catwalk’ provides a vivid portrait of the pioneering house that has sought ‘modernity, ease, vibrancy, optimism, freedom’ from its beginnings. ‘All I ever wanted was for Chloé to have a happy spirit and to make people happy,’ Aghion is quoted as saying in the book. It is the latest addition to Thames & Hudson‘s blockbuster ‘Catwalk’ series, this time authored by Lou Stoppard and featuring a preface by fashion critic Suzy Menkes.

Come Stai? (Bottega Veneta, 2022)

Earlier this year, Italian designer Gaetano Pesce created the set – including 400 entirely unique chairs – for Matthieu Blazy’s sophomore outing at Bottega Veneta. A new limited-edition book from the house, launched as part of Design Miami, documents the process. Alongside images of the set’s creation by Stephen Shore and Sander Muylaert, Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews Pesce about the project’s ‘ideation, approach and process’ as well as contributions from Blazy and Wallpaper* Milan editor Maria Cristina Didero. Like the chairs, each cover of the book is entirely one-of-a-kind.

Acne Paper Issue 17 (Acne Studios, 2022)

After a seven-year hiatus, Acne Paper – Stockholm-based fashion label Acne Studios’ cult print magazine – was relaunched last November as a ‘hybrid between a book and a magazine’ across 500 pages. This year, for its 17th issue, the brand says it is taking this idea of a hybrid ‘one step further’ – ‘[it is] part biography, part novel, part cultural art journal, part fashion magazine,’ describe the brand of the latest issue, which centres around a character named Atticus, ‘a fictional personality in the art world who [is celebrating] his 100-year birthday’. Across five chapters, his ‘memoir’ narrates a ‘cultured life’ which sees him journey from a dancer under choreographer Merce Cunningham to a luminary of the contemporary art scene. The biography also centres on Atticus’ relationship with partner Desmond, ‘[reminding] of a time when men who loved men, and women who loved women, were considered delinquents… [and recalling] the dramatic Aids epidemic and the many loved and talented people who perished with it.’ As such, a portfolio in the issue pays tribute to the work of real-life artists Darrel Ellis, Arch Connelly, Jimmy Wright, and Larry Stanton – the latter who will be celebrated in a special capsule collection by the brand – while contributions from contemporary photographers Luis Alberto Rodriguez, Paul Kooiker and an intimate self-portrait series by Ibrahim Kamara are intersected throughout.

Hand in Hand (Fendi, 2022)

Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Fendi Baguette, a new book from the Italian house sees the iconic handbag style reinterpreted by 30 artisans across Italy in a celebration of centuries-old craft – from brocade, embroidery and crochet to works in wood and marble. In the book – titled ‘Hand in Hand’ after the 2020 initiative of the same name which originally tasked the artisans with reinterpreting the accessory – these works are captured by Italian photographer Lorenzo Vitturi and accompanied by texts by art critic and curator Eugenio Viola, artist Aldo Bakker and ‘upcyclist’ Orsola de Castro. ‘It pleases me to work on certain techniques that, to me, seem unchanged – and then to observe how, when working by hand, an error can become a virtue. Indeed, an error can become the idea for innovation,’ says the bag’s original designer Silvia Venturini Fendi in an interview about the project in the book. ‘[It] is a couture initiative, because it presents Baguette bags that will not be replicated.’

Akris: A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich (Rizzoli, 2022)

To coincide with Akris’ 100th-anniversary celebrations – the house was founded a century ago in St Gallen, Switzerland – a new book, ‘A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich’, presents a history of the house through the lens of current creative director Albert Kriemler (grandson of Akris founder Alice Kriemler-Schoch). The large-format photobook features a portfolio of vintage Akris styles photographed by Iwan Baan at the 1960s brutalist extension of the university of St Gallen, alongside an essay by Swiss author Daniel Binswanger, comments by Kriemler himself, and archival imagery. ‘Selbstverständlich is the one single German expression [that] best encapsulates the Akris spirit for me,’ says Kriemler of the book’s title, which loosely translates to English as ‘natural’ or ‘self-evident’. ‘It perfectly conveys our aesthetic ideal of clothing, embodying an effortless modernity.’

Dior by Sarah Moon (Delpire & Co, 2022)

A new book from Dior celebrates the Parisian house’s relationship with French photographer Sarah Moon – ‘a delicate ode to multifaceted femininity, sublime in its complexity,’ as the accompanying blurb describes. Across three consecutive volumes, Moon captures pieces from the Dior archives – mostly at Fondation Le Corbusier or inside the archival spaces themselves – creating evocative images which ‘communicate the strength which emanates from the architectural silhouettes designed by Christian Dior and his successors’. Current creative director of the women’s collections Maria Grazia Chiuri, who has continually commissioned women artists during her tenure for collaborations or show-set design, is a particular focus of the tome, with a 38-image portfolio of Chiuri’s work making up the book’s final volume.

The Colors of Sies Marjan (Rizzoli, 2022)

‘The Colors of Sies Marjan’ explores the brief but colourful history of Sander Lak’s cult New York label Sies Marjan, which shuttered in June 2020 after four years in business. The ‘highly personal’ book, as Lak describes, features archival imagery of Sies Marjan with a particular focus placed on the designer’s vivid and unexpected use of colour which was the bedrock of his work (‘Cookie Monster blue’, ‘Baskin Robbins pink’, ‘Lakers purple’ and ‘Post-it yellow’ are all described in the book). ‘The intention of a lot of books about fashion houses is usually within a marketing or PR-filled context, like an anniversary or store opening, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but this was something very different,’ Lak says of the book, which features contributions from artist Elizabeth Peyton, author Donna Tartt, and architect Rem Koolhaas, among others. ‘It was a chance for myself to give this chapter some closure.’

Annie Leibovitz (Taschen, 2022)

Originally published as part of Taschen's Sumo series – in which seminal cultural figures, including Helmut Newton, David Hockney and the Rolling Stones, are celebrated with limited-edition supersized monographs – Annie Leibovitz is rereleased in a new unlimited version. The comprehensive tome draws on 40 years of the American photographer’s work, from photojournalism for publications like Rolling Stone to her best-known celebrity portraiture in Vanity Fair and Vogue, as well as a number of photographs never before seen. ‘This is not a retrospective. It is a kind of potpourri. A roller coaster,’ Leibovitz says. ‘As you go through it, you forget what you saw in the beginning. You’re in another place toward the end.’

The Fendi Set: From Bloomsbury to Borghese (Rizzoli, 2022)

British designer Kim Jones became head of Fendi couture and womenswear in September 2020; his first collection for the house, the following January, melded Fendi’s famed Italian craftsmanship with his own British roots, looking towards the Bloomsbury Set for inspiration (particularly – Virginia Woolf, and her novel Orlando). The link, he said, was the way they were drawn to Rome – to its ancient monuments and Renaissance treasures – a journey he explores in a new Rizzoli-published book The Fendi Set (first released in January in the UK, it will arrive in the US at the beginning of April). Exploring Jones’ relationship with the culture-shaping group of artists, intellectuals and writers, it sees collaborator Nikolai von Bismarck photograph their famed gathering spots – Charleston House, Knole House, and Sissinghurst Castle – before heading to the set of the haute couture show in Paris, and then to Rome’s Villa Medici and Villa Borghese, where the histories of Fendi and the Bloomsbury Set meet. The photographs capture Jones’ own contemporary ‘set’ – Christy Turlington, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell among them – alongside original letters, diary entries and excerpts from Bloomsbury members.

GANNI: Gimme More (Rizzoli, 2021)

Ganni girls embody a celebratory, spontaneous, community and eco-aware spirit – one that has been captured within the pages of the Copenhagen-based brand's debut monograph GANNI: Gimme More. The vivid volume, published by Rizzoli, dives into the world of the sustainability-focused, pattern- and print-celebrating label. Look out for a photo essay documenting Ganni's home city, shot by longtime collaborator Ana Kraš; an insightful conversation with the label's creative director Ditte Reffstrup and a vivid visual collage piecing together the brand's raising-the-roof house parties. Laura Hawkins

Versace Catwalk: The Complete Collections (2021)

In recent years, Versace catwalk shows have well and truly broken the internet. For the label’s Milan Fashion Week S/S 2022 offering in September, its campaign star Dua Lipa opened and closed a scintillating runway show, which featured a profusion of its signature motifs: tropical foulard silks, oodles of neon, safety-pin embellishments and a steamy hit of bare skin.

With the release of Versace Catwalk: The Complete Collections, fashion fans can ogle their favourite catwalk collections from the brand – be it the animal-print and power-shouldered silhouettes of the S/S 1983 offering, or the cyber glamour of the S/S 2012 couture show. The volume, authored by esteemed fashion critic Tim Blanks, is paged chronologically and brings together more than 40 years of fashion shows, kicking off with Gianni Versace’s 1978 debut, in a carefully curated edit of some 1,200 images. LH

OBJECT-FORM.FORM!, by Samuel Ross (2021)

Samuel Ross' interdisciplinary mindset – that sees him bridge not only his fashion label A-Cold-Wall* but also his art and design practice SR_A – culminates in Object – Form. Form!, Ross' first major book celebrating the range and extent of his projects and collaborators. Leaf through this visual history of Ross' projects to date, which also features a gallery of short texts by friends, mentors and peers, including Virgil Abloh, Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, Hans Ulrich Obrist and David Adjaye. LH

Vivienne Westwood Catwalk (2021)

Vivienne Westwood vanguards, unite! A veritable treasure trove of images and inspiration, Thames & Hudson-published Vivienne Westwood Catwalk celebrates 40 years of the legendary British designer’s runway collections. Take a coveted seat at the catwalk of over 70 collections and delight in 1,300 looks, that celebrate the historicism-rooted, renegade, punk and environmentalist aesthetic of Westwood. The volume, released in celebration of Westwood's 80th birthday, features an introduction and collection texts by fashion critic Alexander Fury, with contributions by Westwood herself and her partner in life and work Andreas Kronthaler. The book is bound with the brand's iconic tartan, first produced in 1993 and officially recognised by the Scottish register of Tartans. LH

Familiarity (Jil Sander, 2021)

Creative director and husband-and wife-duo Lucie and Luke Meier have collaborated with a cohort of legendary image makers, teaming up with Joel Meyerowitz on Sander's recent A/W 2021 campaign. Now the label has released Familiarity, a limited photographic volume, which sees five image makers, Anders Edström, Olivier Kervern, Chris Rhodes, Lina Scheynius and Mario Sorrenti, personally interpret the the Meiers’ designs. These images offer five distinct visual takes on the Sander aesthetic, which are united by Sander's clothing. The images have been captured inside photographers’ homes and gardens, bringing a sense of intimacy to the photographic series, and a notion of familiarity to elevated fashion. LH

Peter Lindbergh. Azzedine Alaïa (Taschen, 2021)

‘We met in 1979, I believe. Ever since, Azzedine and I are hand in glove. I photographed his collections and I have countless portraits of him,' said renowned German photographer Peter Lindbergh of his longtime friendship with Azzedine Alaïa, before he passed away in 2019. Alaïa and Lindbergh were united on many creative passions: a love for black and the celebration of the female form.

Now, a grayscale Taschen volume – launched in conjunction with the exhibition Azzedine Alaïa, Peter Lindbergh at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa in Paris – celebrates the creative output of the two artist's, spanning atmospheric settings including the lamp lit streets of Paris and the windswept beach of Le Touquet, and featuring models and musicians including Naomi Campbell, Kristen McMenamy, Madonna and Tina Turner. The book – a must for Alaïa or Lindbergh-obsessed bibliophiles, also features contributions from Fabrice Hergott, director of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la, photographer Paolo Roversi and Olivier Saillard, fashion historian and director of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. LH

Silicon Valley. No_Code_Life (Rizzoli, 2021)

When Italian label Tod's launched its No_Code trainer project – a line of silhouettes that adheres to technological and fabric innovation, and invites design visionaries to apply cutting-edge ideas to its designs – it demonstrated a synergy with the forward-thinking mindset of Silicon Valley, and its ascendancy of unicorn companies. Now, in celebration of the famed San Francisco location, and the site of spectacular start-ups, the label has launched a Rizzoli-published book which lenses Silicon Valley, in an alternative light, breaks through the venerated veneer of its streets.

For Silicon Valley. No_Code_Life, Tod's enlisted Iranian-American photographer Ramek Fazel to document the daily goings on in Silicon Valley. For 10 days he roamed its roads, armed with a Rolleiflex, shooting diverse portraits and panoramic views, from aerial shots of lengthy highways to employees armed with colourful Google-branded tote bags. The result is a colourful and multifarious presentation of Silicon Valley existence, rooted in reality, instead of millennial-infused myth. LH

Craig Green x Jack Davison (Limited edition at Dover Street Market, 2021)

In March 2021, London menswear designer Craig Green teamed up with photographer Jack Davison, on a poetic S/S 2021 visual set of images that captured Green’s sculptural, utilitarian and headpiece-accented designs. Now, in celebration of the project, Green and Davison have launched a print media extension of the collaboration, encompassed as a limited set of four riso-printed and saddle-stitched self-cover books, accompanied by Tyvek sheet posters, printed in a spectrum of colour variations. From midday tomorrow, 13 May 2021, a mere 30 sets of the books will be available, for free, for the public to collect from Craig Green’s space at Dover Street London. LH

Pucci (Taschen, 2021)

One designer who had the ability to imbue escapism into every garment was Emilio Pucci. The Italian designer was a doyen of dramatic, pattern-splashed clothing, which also had a boundary-pushing comfortable appeal, and was sported on the ski slopes and in the chicest summer resorts. Now, a Taschen released tome celebrates the history of the print-swathed Pucci dynasty, in a volume brimming with archival images, sketches and eye-catching ephemera. Pucci, features accompanying text by fashion critic Vanessa Friedman and is wrapped in a tactile fabric cover, with a selection of archive prints abounding in abstract swirls and tropical blooms. LH

Her Dior: Maria Grazia’s New Voice (Rizzoli, 2021)

During her creative tenure at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has made feminism an integral part of her aesthetic expression, collaborating with revolutionary female artists including Judy Chicago and Tomasina Binga and creating silhouettes that explore the multi dimensional facets of womanhood. Now, a new publication by Rizzoli New York, brings together a host of female photographers, including Wallpaper* contributor Brigitte Niedermair, Nan Goldin, Sarah Moon and Laura Coulson, in a visual exchange exploring female identity.

‘Seeking a dialogue from the outset with these women artists, writers and activists, they themselves at times distant from me and from fashion, was party and parcel of my focus on the reasons and the situations that I believed we urgent, and that I wanted to put at the heart of my creative process,’ Chiuri explains in the volume’s Introduction. LH

Stazione Termini, Lookbook 2009-2021 (Drago, 2021)

Niccolò Berretta has been drawn to the anthropological bravura of August Sander and Diane Arbus since he first started taking pictures. ‘I see their work as a sort of catalogue of human beings yet with the search for the mysterious,’ he says. In 2009 he began taking photographs of some of the one hundred and fifty million passengers that pass each year through Rome’s Stazione Termini. Now 490 of them have been brought together in a chunky book published by Drago.

The first edition includes a glossy wraparound featuring models striding the streets of Esquilino in the 15th rione wearing REDValentino’s Spring/Summer 21 collection. Between the covers, we see couples dressed in matching shiny puffa jackets, a cigar smoking man in a finely tailored navy suit, stickered suitcases, knitted leg warmers, and sunglasses pushed up onto people’s heads. ‘I do not go beyond the mirror they see themselves in every day,’ Berretta says in the introduction. This is more than just a record of quotidian style, it is an archive of a city and its people in flux. ‘An integral part of this visual process is the environment: the advertisements, the construction sites, the cars, the street signs, the scenography that speak to their time. The subtitle Lookbook 2009-2021 is an ironic reference to the world of fashion in which everything is fleeting, fast and almost does not exist.’ Dal Chodha

MSGM 10! The (in)complete Brand Anthology (Rizzoli, 2020)

The vibrancy, pattern and eclectic flavour of Massimo Giorgetti’s MSGM is synonymous with modern Milanese design, and in celebration of the label’s tenth birthday, the brand has released a Rizzoli-published monogram, majestic in colour and warmth. The volume, which is visually inspired by a fanzine and was art directed by Giorgetti himself, features a mix of fashion-focused and personal memories, from his dogs Pane and Coda to effusive editorial images. With contributing texts from friends and collaborators including Maurizio Cattelan, super stylist Katie Grand and journalist Charlie Porter, this is a must read for any MSGM enthusiast. LH

Images (Jacquemus, 2020)

Simone Porte Jacquemus understands the transportive power of Instagram. The designer has long used the medium to convey the sun-drenched seduction his brand reflects, associated with the sand-lined shored of Southern France. During lockdown the designer even shot S/S 2020 digital campaign images with Bella Hadid, Barbie Ferreira and Steve Lacy, showcasing the uplifting results on the social media channel. Now, in his second publication to date, Jacquemus has released ‘Images’, a book of his favourite 321 Instagram images, edited down from the 85,041 pictures he has stored on his phone. The publication is a soothing snapshot of summer, boasting beachside shots, architectural and food close-ups and Jacquemus-clad portraits. They capture the energetic, warm and downtime-focused essence of the brand, whether you’re browsing the book from a sun bed in its founder’s beloved hometown Marseille, or city-bound on the sofa. LH

Sicily (Jil Sander, 2020)

We’re all in need of a touch of escapism right now, and lucky for us, Jil Sander’s Lucie and Luke Meier have just released a sun-kissed pictorial road trip around Sicily, lensed by photographer Olivier Kervern. The analogue amalgamation was first presented back in February at Milan Fashion Week at the brand’s Via Sant’Andrea exhibition space, and the sleek volume also serves up a series of portraits depicting the brand’s A/W 2020 offering. While road-tripping may feel out of reach, Sicily will feel out of the way enough when this book is held in the palm of your hands. LH

Sportmax (Assouline, 2020)

This Assouline-published volume by Luke Leitch and Olivier Saillard offers a pleasingly pictorial stroll through the five-decade history of the sports and casual wear-focused label Sportmax, founded in 1969 by Achille Maramotti. Sketches and advertising campaign images abound, highlighting the boldy saturated shades that define Sportmax’s aesthetic and capture the style signatures of the creatives who anonymously worked on the brand’s collections, including Nanni Strada, Jean- Charles de Castelbajac, Odile Lançon and Guy Paulin. LH

Prada Catwalk (Thames & Hudson, 2019)

When it comes to a Prada catwalk show, fans of the Milanese label delight in decoding the various archive Prada-isms which appear in each collection, be it S/S 1996’s icky ‘Formica’ prints, S/S 2000’s tessellated lipstick pattern, a heavy brown shoe or a pleated knee length skirt. Now, a new tome houses all of the brand’s catwalk collections in one place, from Miuccia Prada’s debut A/W 1988 runway offering, with its schoolgirl simplicity and utilitarian tailoring, to her S/S 2019 collection, boasting bourgeois takes on its signature nylon fabric, chubby Alice bands and swathes of grunge green satin. The Thames & Hudson published volume, written by fashion critic Susannah Frankel offers commentary on each collection featured, and boasts over 1,300 illustrations, making it the perfect printed tool for Prada fans everywhere, vying to decode the designer’s famed aesthetic, her obsessions and eccentricities and the brand’s boundary-breaking sensibility. LH

Chanel: The Impossible Collection (Assouline, 2019)

It’s fitting that this clamshell-cased tome, measuring nearly fifty centimetres in length, is purchased with a complimentary pair of white gloves. For ‘Chanel: The Impossible Collection' is a bookshelf treasure equal to the house’s signature bouclé tweed suit or its 2.55 handbag. This enormous edition is a tribute to the famed Parisian maison; its glossy pages are packed with fashion show shots, magazine editorials, newspaper cuttings, illustrations and portraits. As part of the volume, author and fashion critic Alexander Fury has also selected 100 iconic looks that represent the house, from the Little Black Dress to the day suit. ‘Let them copy, my ideas belong to everyone, I refuse no one,’ Gabrielle Chanel told The New York Times in January 1971. It’s hard to refuse this book too. LH

Fashion Central Saint Martins (Thames & Hudson, 2019)

Alexander McQueen, Phoebe Philo, Wallpaper* October issue guest editor Hussein Chalayan: some of the most lauded, experimental and innovative designers in the world began their fashion lives in the hallowed halls of Central Saint Martins in London. Fashion Central Saint Martins – published by Thames & Hudson and edited by the school’s programme director of fashion, Hywel Davies, and Cally Blackman, lecturer in fashion history and theory – takes a bold, collaged and archival amble through the art school’s fashion history, which began in 1938, when six years after its fashion school was founded by Muriel Pemberton, it began teaching fashion design and drawing.

Its colourful, cut-and-paste pages are divided into decades, allowing the reader to party alongside the school’s Blitz Kids Eighties alumni, like journalist Hamish Bowles and John Galliano before touring into the 2010s, the era of Craig Green, Charles Jeffrey and Molly Goddard. Expect pages packed with unseen student work, essays from guest writers including Sarah Mower and Judith Watt, and intimate insight into the student lives of some of fashion’s most important figures today. LH

Legaspi: Larry Legaspi, the 70s, and the Future of Fashion (Rizzoli, 2019)

‘It’s me fetishizing him through a fanboy filter’ says Rick Owens of the subject of his latest Rizzoli New York release, dedicated to the work and aesthetic of 70s unsung design hero Larry Legaspi, who created pioneering looks for musical behemoths including KISS, LaBelle and George Clinton. Owens’ men’s and women’s Glam Rock-ready A/W 2019 collection was also dedicated to the designer and featured sinched streamlined tailoring, platform boots and plenty of stage-ready make-up.

For the first ever book documenting LeGaspi’s work, Owens had unprecedented access to his partner’s archives – Legaspi died of Aids in 2001 – and the book is an amalgam of archive backstage imagery, tour posters and sketches, interspersed with newly Owens-lensed images of LeGaspi’s designs, alongside commentary from Patti LaBelle, André Leon Talley and Pat Cleveland. ‘Larry introduced a camp ferocity to the mainstream and helped set a lot of kids like me free,’ Owens adds. We urge you to get introduced too. LH

Left, cardigan, €395; top, €470, both by Leorosa. Shorts, £395, by Erdem. Hat, £200, by Maison Michel. Sandals, £750, by Prada. Socks, €25, by Bresciani. Right, cardigans, £860 each, both by Missoni. Sandals, £750, by Prada. Socks, €25, by Bresciani.‘Maralunga’ armchair, £1,050, by Vico Magistretti, for Cassina, from Monument (throughout). 

The S/S 2022 menswear shows touted cocooning, kaleidoscopic and crafty cardigans as the knitwear silhouette of choice.

Milanese brands promoted prismatic, patterned and painterly shapes that reflected the exuberant spirit of the city – from Missoni’s signature chevron to Marni’s brushstroke stripes.

London-based brand Erdem, which presented its first men’s collection for spring, made a case for striped sleeveless jumpers and paintbox-red chunky cardigans in a Sebastian Flyte-meets-1970s-style-icon take on dressing. Meanwhile, the aesthetic of 1980s cinema informed young knitwear label Leorosa’s cardigan designs, which were colour-blocked, boxy creations that riffed on a preppy Ivy League polish.

Fellow fledgling label Waste Yarn Project also favoured contrasting yarn colours, creating collared cardigans formed using asymmetric panels in hues such as turquoise, yellow, fuchsia and orange. Demonstrating an anti-waste approach, each individual style is woven using leftover wool from a Shanghai factory. So instead of being left to gather dust in boxes on a factory floor, the yarns now cocoon the body in bold colour. 

INFORMATION

A version of this article appears in the April 2022 issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands now and available to subscribers 

Gilded nymphs! Giant balloons! Flagpoles festooned with rippling ribbons! The show sets of the A/W 2022 menswear runways were striking, dramatic and daring in their design. From Dior to Loewe, Prada to Hermès, brands bolstered their IRL runway presence ;with sets that, variously, evoked the illuminated spaceship tunnel of 2001: A Space Odyssey,;recreated a Paris landmark, and resembled the serene, house-dotted streets of suburban America. Here we round up the runway sets that nearly stole the show...

Best show sets A/W 2022 menswear

Dior

For A/W 2022, men’s artistic director Kim Jones held Dior’s show at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, but his inspiration came from a little further across the city. Inside, Dior recreated the Pont Alexandre III bridge, an icon of the city’s skyline that stretches from the Grand Palais on the Left Bank to the Petit Palais on the Right Bank. 

Named after Tsar Alexander III, the bridge was designed by architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin in the Art Nouveau style, and features four 17m-high pylons. Gilt bronze sculptures of winged horses flank each pylon, representing Arts, Sciences, Commerce and Industry. The centre of the arched bridge features hammered copper nymphs, which were created to memorialise the historic Franco-Russian Alliance. These elements were recreated in gilded glamour on the Dior runway.

Louis Vuitton

The Parisian maison’s poignant show featured the collection that Virgil Abloh was in the midst of designing before his death in November 2021, and which was completed posthumously by his design team. At the Le Carreau du Temple in Paris, the show set evoked a serene suburban scene; a quintessential street was lined with sky-blue ‘dream houses’, with red rooftops and inviting, warmly lit windows.

Abloh’s first show for the Parisian maison eight collections ago featured a rainbow catwalk recalling The Wizard of Oz’s Yellow Brick Road, symbolising a fairytale path about to be trodden. The emotive setting for his final, posthumous show was an emblem of a dream fulfilled, a familial location to mark a boyhood aspiration that came true. 

Prada

By now, film clips of Jeff Goldblum walking onto the Prada runway from an intergalactic tunnel resembling a spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey have made it into the annals of viral video history. For the label’s A/W 2022 show at its Deposito space in the Fondazione Prada, Milan, regular collaborator AMO created an illuminated mesh walkway, from which models strode onto a runway lit with a yellow zig-zag and lined with rows of retro brown cinema seating. The auditorium seating was a sublime set design detail, a nod to the host of A-list and emerging Hollywood actors that walked the runway, swapping the cinema for the catwalk, including Twin Peaks’ Kyle MacLachlan, Moonlight’s Ashton Sanders and Sex Education’s Asa Butterfield.

Kenzo

For Nigo’s debut, A/W 2022 show for Kenzo, the brand returned to the early 19th-century Parisian shopping arcade Galerie Vivienne, where its founder Kenzo Takada opened his first boutique, ‘Jungle Jap’ in 1970. Here, the runway set-up was stripped back, emphasising the mosaic-clad, corniced and gilded beauty of the location, and placing focus on Nigo’s debut designs for the house, a collection rooted in authenticity, drawing on American staples and celebrating Kenzo’s signature motifs, layering and mixing for a modern men’s and women’s wardrobe. 

Etro

Italian label Etro is synonymous with the paisley print – it even has a perfume named after the pattern and a ready-to-wear collection dedicated to its signature swirling jacquard fabric creations. For the brand’s A/W 2022 menswear show in Milan, the label blew up its paisley print into paintbox red, green and blue tones and created a carpet that snaked across its sizeable runway space at Bocconi University, which was lined with clear Perspex seating. 

Loewe

Inside the Tennis Club de Paris, models left their footprints on sand, walking amidst Flags, Paris 2022, a rippling site-specific installation by New York-based artists Joe McShea and Edgar Mosa. This was formed from 87 faceless flags, made from nearly 4,000 individually cut rainbow-hued ribbons, which were mounted on 6.5m-long aluminium flagpoles.

The installation was a new iteration of the flag-focused works that McShea and Mosa have showcased in Ibiza and locations around New York, including Fire Island Pines back in summer 2020 and 2021. Inspired by the movement captured in Baroque frescoes and hyper-geometry, they are not intended to be symbolic, but to act as a mesmerising call to reflection. Creating a draped, fabric-focused forest, each flag was arranged randomly, and formed from shades to represent the full visible colour spectrum.

Jil Sander

Lucie and Luke Meier favour purist silhouettes, so it’s serendipitous that their runway shows have taken place in religious locations, from Pitti to Paris. For A/W 2022, Sander held its show in the breathtaking American Cathedral in Paris, where stooled seating was dotted amid majestic pillars and the scene bathed in a yellow light. A giant balloon hovered about the catwalk, like a shining set above the stripped-back show set. The label’s show invitation was also inflatable.

Hermès

At the Mobilier National in Paris, time-worn tapestries woven between the 15th and 19th centuries lined the Hermès catwalk. Artistic director of the maison’s men’s universe Véronique Nichanian was taken with the symbolism of these tactile designs and their depictions of landscapes and the passage of time, and fascinated by the idea of giving them new character by assimilating models into their backdrop.

One tapestry,Tenture des Mois ou des Maisons Royales, Avril, Versailles, commenced in 1673 and completed in 1680, touches on the months of the year, while other creations focus on humbler depictions of verdure or ‘greenery’. Models became ‘part of the landscape in which the collection’s energy unfurls, and in which figures and clothing come into their own’.

Paco Rabanne

At the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Paco Rabanne's show set was bathed in an otherworldly hue, which shifted in pink and purple tones, reminiscient of a James Turrell light projection. The brand's runway setting had a multi-sensorial, enveloping elan, reflecting the hues in the brand's A/W 2022 womenswear collection, like scarlett and bubble gum sequin dresses with voluminous ruffles.

Physical fashion shows were back with a bang across New York, London, Milan and Paris. Here, we present the best runway sets and venues that stole the show for S/S 2022, from Saint Laurent's womenswear spectacular under the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, to Prada’s cross-continent and time-zone spanning set up. 

Best runway sets, S/S 2022 womenswear

Dior

Adding to the roster of female artists she collaborates with, womenswear artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri teamed up with octogenarian Italian artist Anna Paparatti on a board game-inspired show set. At the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, a runway was formed from a circle of colourful flooring panels set at various levels, and a backdrop boasted artworks resembling dartboards and roulette wheels, recalling Paparatti's 1960s artworks, which alluded to the absurdities of life.

Givenchy

For his first physical runway show for Givenchy, Matthew M Williams took guests to the Paris La Défense Arena, the largest indoor performance venue in Europe, on the outskirts of the French capital, with a stark, art gallery-inspired show set. Here, Williams bathed his guests in the glow of a cinematic sun, by suspending a monumental oculus from the ceiling of the vast space.

Valentino

Celebrating the café culture of Paris, so enjoyed by many guests for the first time in 18 months, Valentino installed rows of wicker dining seating at its Carreau du Temple venue, alongside a vibrant flower stall. The Roman house's show also spilled inclusively onto the streets outside the expansive indoor location, where models strutted and posed in front of diners and drinkers, seated at the city's inviting bistros.

Prada

Talk about a time zone-spanning, continent-crossing runway show. As guests in Milan installed themselves into Prada's regular Deposito venue at the Fondazione Prada, a location lined with geometric blocks of seating, so another audience was getting comfy at Shanghai’s Bund One. The two shows began simultaneously, and were live-streamed onto screens at both locations, with guests taking in models, in physical or digital form, sporting satin dresses and slouchy leather outerwear that riffed on notions of sexy. (Read more about OMA/AMO and Prada’s 25 years of show sets.)

Saint Laurent

After show films set on sprawling sand dunes and icy glaciers, Saint Laurent returned to its signature Trocadéro location in Paris, illuminated by the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower. Here, models walked across a vast runway in lean and seductive silhouettes inspired by Paloma Picasso, lit up by an industrial wall of spotlights. At the show's finale, a waterfall flooded the catwalk, a stunning feat of nature slap bang in the middle of the city.

Moncler MONDOGENIUS

The label staged its latest Moncler Genius collections as part of an immersive phygital live-streamed event spanning five cities: Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and New York. In Milan, guests watched from a film studio location, as host Alicia Keys appeared IRL, interacting with Shanghai host Victoria Song via a huge screen, and presenting 11 collection films, which were showcased one by one. 

Loewe

Stripping back Loewe’s new show space at Paris’ La Garde Républicaine of ‘bits and bobs’, creative director Jonathan Anderson wanted his S/S 2022 Loewe venue to resemble a ‘blank piece of paper’. This concept allowed the silhouettes in the collection to take centre stage. Here, they entered the stark, pine-swathed show venue from a trapdoor in the ground, a twist on how the viewer usually takes in forms from the feet up.

Hermès

No one cemented the sense of escape served up on the S/S 2022 catwalks more than Hermès, which had a private plane land on the tarmac of its Le Bourget airport show location, an hour from Paris. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski also worked with French artist Flora Moscovici, who created a series of 6m-high abstract panoramas, drenched in sunset tones, which moved as models navigated a circular show space, sporting easy but infinitely luxurious summer silhouettes.

Rejina Pyo

The London-based designer made a medal-worthy splash for her S/S 2022 womenswear show, transporting guests to the Zaha Hadid-designed London Aquatics Centre in Stratford. Here, the audience lined the Olympic venue's swimming pool and at the show's social media-flooded finale, members of the Team GB divers made dramatic twists and turns into the water below.

Miu Miu

For guests keen to get back to the boardroom, Miu Miu served up an office-inspired show set where swiveling Eames office chairs lined a snaking runway at regular show location Palais d'Iéna in Paris. The catwalk was neighboured by oculus-shaped screens, which featured two comedic films by Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani that were also debuted as part of the brand's accompanying live stream on social media. 

Jil Sander

In Milan, Jil Sander bathed guests in a monochromatic lilac haze, in an all-purple show set swathing circular stools, the walls and ceiling. The set design offered a tranquil, almost sophorific setting, for creative director's Lucie and Luke Meier to present a womenswear offering reveling in tactile fabrications, architectural volumes and bold patterns, from tiger print coats to fluid deck chair stripe dresses, crochet polo shirts to androgynous tailoring. 

Coperni

Coperni founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant emphasized escapism for S/S 2022, which a collection that reveled in beach-ready silhouettes, suited for sun drenched shores in Ibiza or Greece. To amp up that out-of-office spirit, the brand swathed its runway with sand, lining the entrance to its catwalk space in Paris with 70,000 tall hemp trees, casting a heady scent around guests sat amongst the verdant shrubbery. 

Ciao from Milano! Mere weeks after Salone del Mobile 2021, the Italian fashion capital’s show season is back with a bang, with S/S 2022 serving up IRL and digital experiences, from a host of behemoth and burgeoning brands, from Fendi to Andrea Adamo, Prada to Sunnei, across a plethora of landmark locations. It's been 18 months since Milan hosted such a bumper week of shows and presentations. Here's everything you need to know about Milan Fashion Week S/S 2022, as it happens.

Versace by Fendi – Fendi by Versace

Rumours swirled throughout Milan Fashion Week of a link-up between Italian behemoths Fendi and Versace. In an intimate show, the two labels unveiled an offering rich in maximalist motifs idiosyncratic of each house – Versace safety pins, chainmail and baroque Le Greca print, Fendi silk faille, double FF monogram and soft shearling – that featured not one collaborative collection, but two: Versace by Fendi and Fendi by Versace. In both offerings, designed by Kim Jones and Donatella Versace, brand signatures morphed into modern markings: the FF and Versace logos were reimagined as a double-branded print on a trompe l'oeil denim suit, a foulard silk bomber jacket, a shaved shearling trench coat. Fendi's ‘Baguette’ bag featured a Versace Medusa head clasp and safety pin details. ‘Fendace is Fashion with a capital F – and a capital V. Together they stand for Freedom, Fun and Virtuosity,’ read the Versace and Fendi show notes.

Gucci

Gucci forwent a fashion show, in favour of launching its latest project Gucci Vault, a creative-laboratory-come-online-space which boasts a range of limited pieces from emerging brands, plus pre-loved vintage Gucci items source by the brand's specialist in-house archvists. This digitial platform, designed to celebrate upcoming talent and the longevity of rare design, features collaborations with a host of global labels, including Stefan Cooke, Collina Strada and Rave Review and is impactful way for a luxury brand to create dialgoudes with other emerging designers. Says creative director Alessandro Michele, ‘Vault is the place where wonders will hybridize and come together, giving life to new creations. Gucci’s greatest gift, in the end, is to never stay the same; to never grow old.'

Giorgio Armani

Milan Fashion Week marked the 40th anniversary of Giorgio Armani's more youthful label Emporio Armani, a celebration inaugurated with the opening of the exhibition ‘The Way We Are’ at Armani Silos. On the final day of the season, Giorgio Armani presented an ode to sun-drenched escape, with a collection brimming with oceanic and sunset hues, featherlight and glittering fabrics, relaxed tailoring and embellished evening wear. Double-breasted blazers were paired with ballooning trousers, skirts swished with stripes, sportswear and gauzy gowns were imagined in the brand's signature greys. Asymmetric suiting shone in cornflower and magenta, cocooning skirts were swathed in abstract florals and waistcoats shimmered with beading. Escapist, ease-fuelled elegance.

Dolce & Gabbana

The Y2K spirit has swept the S/S 2022 catwalks (just look to Blumarine and Missoni). It's an era that Dolce & Gabbana dialled up for spring, with a collection brimming with optimism and energy, embellishment and exuberance. Wild animal motifs, camouflage, cascading crystals, baroque prints, chainmail, bright beading, metallic fringing – details for S/S 2022 were dazzling and dramatic, featured across voluminous puff-shouldered jackets, mini skirts, party dresses and cargo pants. Jeans were layered with ‘Dolce & Gabbana’ branded boxer shorts, LBDs were designed in lace and with lingerie details, and body suits were bold in their skin-baring cuts. Models strode a gleaming mirrored catwalk, strutting to the pulsing beats of Black Legend's ‘You See The Trouble With Me’.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo returned to the historic Rotonda della Besana, where an interior was lined with geometric mirrored structures, designed to reflect the models and clothing on the catwalk. In a collection rich in texture, colour and summertime silhouettes that had an escapist, relaxed ease, Guillaume Meilland served up lean menswear looks, such as featherlight knitted T-shirts paired with relaxed suiting, and leather shirting paired with shorts, alongside womenswear ranging from plunging cotton sundresses, parachute-centric kaftans, zip-up playsuits and suede jackets. Bold tiger stripes, intricate knits and floral prints punctuated the collection, including a 1970s Ferragamo floral foulard repurposed by Parisian artist Julien Colombier.

MSGM

Designers have professed an enthusiasm for returning to Milan’s cultural landmarks, among them MSGM’s Massimo Giorgetti, whose brand is tied up with the typography of the city, and who showed its S/S 2022 collection outdoors in a park called the Biblioteca degli Alberi, or ‘Library of Trees'. This was an offering of bold, optimistic and easy silhouettes, that referenced the carefree attitude of the 1980s in Milan, the fashion of Fiorucci, the tones of ice lollies and fresh smoothies, and the ‘picnic posters’ designed by Steven Frykholm for Herman Miller in the 1970s and 1980s for the company’s open-air gatherings. Think flowing strawberry-print dresses, hybrid shell suits, Pointillist floral tailoring, ruffled shirts and slouchy denim, all paired with foam sliders or lace-up gladiator sandals with sporty ribbons. 

Moncler MONDOGENIUS

For Moncler's latest Genius spectacle, featuring innovative collections from 11 brands, including JW Anderson, Palm Angels and Hyke, the label staged an immersive phygital live-streamed event spanning five cities: Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and New York. In Milan, guests watched from a film studio location, as host Alicia Keys appeared IRL, interacting with Shanghai host Victoria Song via a huge screen, and presenting 11 collection films, which were showcased one by one. Spanning territories and time zones and a plethora of individually minded collaborators, the event tapped into a global, digital and diverse perspective, acknowledging its worldwide audience. Collection film highlights included JW Anderson's collaboration with Luca Guadagnino for a film titled Veronica, and Solange’s performance for Moncler 1952; the films were projected on screens in city squares including Times Square in New York City and Shibuya in Tokyo.

Ports 1961

‘Short. Sharp. Strong’, read the show notes that accompanied Ports 1961's S/S 2022 offering, a confident, assertive, rebellious and youth-focused collection, from stylist and creative director Karl Templer. Here, silhouettes were short –mini skirts came in supple leather and shimmering with studs; prints were bold – imagined as colourful splashes of graffiti, snakeskin and geometric panels; and accessories were emphatic – chunky, thick-soled ankle boots; and oversized basketball sneakers. Standouts include a leather trench coat laser-cut with ovular holes, and a bourgeois skirt suit – one of the archetypal silhouettes referenced in the collection – reimagined in black and white leather and thigh-skimming proportions.

Versace

Campaign star Dua Lipa dazzling on the runway, topless male models tugging on bell pulls from the sky, bold Versace silks billowing like flags in the breeze, chainmail, leather, neon, scintillating sex appeal – what more could you want from a Versace fashion catwalk show? After 18 months of standout collection films, the doyenne of drama Donatella Versace was back with an IRL bang for S/S 2022. Spring served up a vibrant, body-flaunting men’s and women’s offering, revelling in Versace signatures: cut-out tailoring securing with Crayola-coloured safety pins, draped dresses slashed to reveal glimpses of foulard silk, basketball vests and handkerchief tops paired with relaxed suiting, trench coats patchworked with the Baroque El Greco motif. Just like Dua Lipa’s album name, a flawless blend of Future Nostalgia.

Prada

Prada’s subtly subversive sex appeal is back for spring. Simmering seduction took centre stage at the label’s first physical runway show since Raf Simons was appointed co-creative director of the brand in February 2020. In a digitally-minded, forward-thinking runway show, that saw two simultaneous catwalks presented at the Deposito space of the Prada Foundation in Milan and in Shanghai's Bund One, models sported duchesse satin dresses in orange, sorbet pink and neon green, which were opened to reveal a flash of flesh at the back. Mini skirts trailed a train of fabric, mannish white shirts were boned with corsetry details, pea coats slouched in distressed leather, and once conservative button-up polo shirts were moulded around the bust. ‘Pieces trace ideas and outlines of dress – the memory of a train, the bones of a corset, the curve of a brassiere,’ read the brand’s show notes, of silhouettes that interacted with the body – reduced in structure and synonymous with seduction.

Sportmax

Motion has been on the mind for S/S 2022. Case in point: Sportmax, which looked to the creative interaction between composer John Cage and his longtime companion, dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, as inspiration. It served up a balletic collection, rich in fluid, draped and voluminous silhouettes, spanning nudes and soft pinks and bolder lilac and magenta. Taffeta dresses fell softly from the shoulder, corsets were imagined in delicate net tulle, jackets fastened across the body with soft bows, and chunky flatform sandals laced around the ankle with silk ribbons. Poetic and pretty, easy and elegant, contemporary clothing for life on the move.

Missoni

Sex appeal hasn’t been understated for spring. Body-flaunting forms defined the debut catwalk collection of new Missoni creative director Alberto Caliri, who delivered bold, seductive looks which tap into S/S 2022’s youth-focused insouciantly sexy mood. Torso-revealing knits and patchwork body suits, in Missoni's signature chevron stripes and colourful hues, were paired with slouchy denim, zig-zag and zebra-print weave dresses were daring in cut-out details and bikini tops were layered with oversized shirting. Fabrics glittered and the skin shimmered. Missoni's spring woman is prepped for a party en plein air, and she's anything but a wallflower. 

Tod’s

A sportswear-centric ease defined Walter Chiapponi's most sophisticated offering for Tod’s to date. In a collection revelling in luxurious, naturalistic and bold tones, subtly space age padded jackets traced the contours of the body, decolletage-flaunting A-line dresses skimmed the thigh, and shirt dresses curved with balloon sleeves. Focus on fabrication and handcraft was key as cowl-neck T-shirts and cropped jackets were imagined in buttery leather, asymmetric blazers in dark denim, and mini-dresses, polo shirts and gently flaring trousers in colourful intarsia knits and with densely fringed details. ‘Sartorial design and materials from jersey to the finest leathers are used to construct a wardrobe that has a desire for relaxation, but at the same time exalts good taste and quality,' read the brand's show notes.

MM6

For many, Fashion Week has offered the experience to reconnect with peers, and experience a sense of immersion within the creative scene. For S/S 2022, MM6 was inspired by the sense of people coming together in the bars and restaurants of cities, and the 'surreal, cinematic experience of seeing faces from different walks of life once again come together in the same place'. Bringing together notions of the familiar, exalted with aesthetic references to surrealist artists Claude Cahun, Leonora Carrington and Dorothea Tanning, models sported tuxedo suits paired with checkerboard sweaters and floating collars, sheer spider web-shaped dresses and balletic pleated calico skirts paired with optical body suits. Silhouettes draped and tied around the body, forms were deconstructed, leather-effect fabrics imagined in metallic and distressed tones, and accessories blown up to bulbous proportions, like Derby shoes with swollen soles.

Blumarine

A yearning for Y2K has been prevalent in recent seasons – noted in the body-con skimpy silhouettes and lingerie fabrics on the S/S 2022 catwalks. It's a The Simple Life-centric aesthetic made most explicit by Blumarine’s Nicola Brognano, who was made creative director of the label in 2019. For spring, the brand served up a collection of candy-coloured, skin-flaunting, wispy silhouettes suitable for Gen Z It-girls everywhere, featuring denim hot pants, candy floss pink biker jackets, trompe l'oeil denim dresses, beaded crop tops and fur-lined cardigans. This look is unabashed, unapologetic and revelling in bad taste. If the butterfly-motif, crystal-sparkling accessories aren't enough for you, a pedigree dog is sure to set off the Blumarine silhouette. The collection's stylist Lotta Volkova had her poodle Dima backstage.

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani is a brand emblematic of the city of Milan, and in the midst of its landmark 40th anniversary celebration. At the brand’s Tadao Ando-designed Teatro Armani show space, a celebratory decade-spanning film opened the S/S 2022 catwalk show, charting Emporio Armani’s impact on global fashion worldwide: its attention to tailoring, sensuality and style. For spring, Mr Armani imagined a desert adventure culminating in a colour-drenched oasis, with a men's and women's collection swathed in sandy hues, refreshing blues and jewel-tone greens and reds, featuring deconstructed denim and signature soft suiting, relaxed sportswear and embellished evening wear looks that sashayed down the runway drenched in beading and sequins. An exhibition charting four decades of the brand is housed opposite the Armani Teatro in the Armani Silos space, brimming with extensive historic imagery, archive pieces and an extraordinary sense of achievement.

Etro

In their out-of-office inspired, escapist attitude, brands are dipping across decades for inspiration. Cue Veronica Etro, who for S/S 2022, seamlessly blended the tropes of 1970s and 1990s dressing, with a collection of glamorous, insouciant, holiday-ready looks, swathed in embellishments ready to jangle on the shores of sandy beaches or on an open-air dance floor. To the transportative sounds of Moby and Massive Attack, models walked the catwalk sporting pieces riffing on bohemianism and sportswear, from floral polo necks paired with chainmail mini skirts, to slouchy denim sported with colourful crochet bras, sarong skirts teamed with cropped bomber jackets and fluid dresses revealing flashes of torso. Modern, soulful silhouettes made for an adventure-filled, glittering escape.

Boss x Russell Athletic

Baseball fans, buckle up. In celebration of their latest collaborative collection, Boss and Russell Athletic took guests to the Kennedy Sports Centre, where an immersive sports game-cum-catwalk show ensued. Cue guests munching on mini pizzas, ice cream and hot dogs and sipping beer from the bleachers as a brass band blared ‘Eye of The Tiger’, cheerleaders performed nail biting twists and turns, dancing popcorn and baseball mascots whipped up the crowd, and a smoke canister-wielding flash mob made their debut. The collection designed to knock it out of the park? An offering of sporty, varsity-inspired men's and women's silhouettes sure to drive Gen-Z wild, including check baseball jackets, bright jersey shorts, baseball-stripe crop tops, slouchy tailoring and puffer jackets. TikTok creator Khaby Lame, who has attracted 113 million followers in just 18 months, also made his runway debut.

Max Mara 

Escapism has been high on the agenda for spring, and Max Mara’s Ian Griffiths dived into the sun-drenched seductive pages of Françoise Sagan’s famed novella, Bonjour Tristesse, written in 1953 by the then 18-year-old Françoise Quoirez under a pseudonym, reimagining the wardrobe of a stylish bourgeois rebel, holidaying in a secluded villa, tempted by casinos, speedboats and hedonistic exploits. This translated into a wardrobe of breezy, ease-fuelled pieces worthy of weeks on the Amalfi Coast and the Côte d’Azur, in sandy, sunburst, nautical, and deckchair shades – like striped boxy shirts layered insouciantly with mini skirts, modernist fisherman’s smocks, workwear jackets, denim blazers and long vests, in denim, canvas, gabardine and poplin. The only accessories for a budding Beat Generation writer? A thin Alice band, chunky-soled Mary Jane sandals, slouchy shoulder bags and the concept for a sell-out literary classic.

Fendi

Kim Jones looked to the spirit of the Studio 54 dancefloor for spring, referencing Jerry Hall, Tina Chow, Pat Cleveland, Bianca Jagger and Grace Jones as inspiration. An abstract figurative illustration by Antonio Lopez formed the starting point of the offering – one which celebrated the creative circle of former creative director Karl Lagerfeld. This image was reimagined in intarsia leather, gleaming jacquards and engineered lace, tessellated across chubby fur coats, thigh-high boots, body-hugging mini dresses and gauzy silk gowns. The brand’s optimistic disco-age offering, which also marked Jones’ first live collection, was celebratory and joyful, also serving up silk suiting and fringed dresses in organic, metallic and exuberant hues. It's time to take your turn under the disco ball.

N°21

Shimmering sequins, frothy of ostrich feathers, voluminous folds of taffeta, gauzy layers of organza: the materiality of Alessandro Dell’Acqua's S/S 2022 show was idiosyncratic of N°21, a label that revels in glamorous embellishments and after-dark, boudoir-inspired tones, all offset with subversive sportswear and utilitarian twists. For spring, Dell’Acqua spoke of giving in to the temptation of design, flirting with couture techniques, intuition and hand work. Dresses and bomber jackets were imagined as chunky hand-woven knits, tailoring and athleisure tropes were juxtaposed with going-out pieces – think jersey crop tops paired with plumed wrap mini skirts and silk negligees emblazoned with varsity typography. Dell'Acqua is the master of bringing a relaxed contemporary ease to seductive dialled-up dressing. What could be a more fitting style mantra for 2021?

Jil Sander

Think of Jil Sander's S/S 2022 show as an ASMR experience for fashion obsessives, featuring a collection that revealed the sounds of crisp denim and textured leather, jangling sequins, swishing feather-light silk and tactile bouclé. Smocking, cording, padding and coating were all details noted in Lucie and Luke Meier’s S/S 2022 offering, which drew on the duality of dressing, featuring graphic lines, diaphanous shapes and fluid forms. Deckchair-striped dresses were draped around the body, chunky crochet polo shirts were paired with loose denim, trousers sparkled with delicate floral sequins, and oversized suiting was secured asymmetrically across the frame. The designers also spoke of not taking themselves too seriously, an approach exemplified by details riffing on good taste, including tiger print and crystal embellishments.

Slowly but surely, the pleasurable prospect of dressing up again is becoming a reality. But what do you do when all we can remember is how to snuggle into our sweatpants? From cocktail dresses to wedding guest dresses, there's a host of event get-ups for diving into this summer whether you're enthused about something streamlined or keen to show off dramatic and embellished forms.

Here, we present the strongest silhouettes for summer and beyond, from brands including Balenciaga, Valentino and Fendi.

Balenciaga: the chainmail party dress

Encouraged to embrace all out adornment? Look to the French maison's gold linked chainmail dress which will jangle as your get down on the dance floor.

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Hermès and Jil Sander: the leather dress

Embrace luxurious fabrications after months of simply wearing cotton and jersey. Hermès and Jil Sander recommend minimalist and calf and ankle grazing dress shapes, with sumptuous leather accents.

hermes.com

Loewe: the voluminous dress

Turn up the volume at your first special ocassion. Loewe's two-tone party dresses flirt with dramatic and poufed-up proportions and also features artisanally-inclined knot details.

loewe.com

Emporio Armani: the transparent dress

Embrace the body and opt for gauzy and featherlight fabrics. Emporio Armani's transparent dress is formed from a breezy transparent fabrics, for lighter-than-air luxury.

armani.com

Fendi: the cut-out dress

A cheeky cut-out detal witll turn heads. Fendi balances the coy with the classic, with this elegant knitted dress. Its alluring backless detail is scintillating for show offs.

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Saint Laurent: the strapless dress

A strapless dress boasts a couture level of chic. Discover Saint Laurent's sophisticated style, accented with elegant draping and pleating.

ysl.com

Valentino: the floral dress

Floral details always have fine form in spring. Valentino's take on bold blooms has a graphic twist. The Roman maison's party dresses feature precise petal cut-outs. 

valentino.com

‘They’re the ultimate weekend shoe to lounge around the house on a cold morning, or to walk around outside on a summer afternoon,' say Jil Sander creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier of the ubiquitous Birkenstock: utilitarian, ergonomic, pared back, and a coveted item for the sartorially inclined and those unphased by fashion. ‘They aren’t ever aesthetically striking, but rather are something authentic that works well,' they add.

Now, as part of Birkenstock's 1774 project, a collaborative collection that has seen designs created by Valentino, Proenza Schouler and Rick Owens, the footwear brand has teamed up with Jil Sander on an organic and sculptural reinterpretation of its signature styles. ‘We wanted to keep the essence of Birkenstock but we wanted to introduce new materials and play with the proportion,' explain Lucie and Luke. ‘The central shape adjustment we made was to enlarge the outsole and tread, giving the shoes a wider, more important rand and top silhouette.'

The four offerings include the Arizona (the most popular shoe of 2020), Milano and Berlin, all reimagined with an exaggerated silhouette, in naturalistic hues of cream, olive and black, tactile suede and raw-edged calfskin. A new silhouette, the Velan is a reinvention of Birkenstock's closed-toe sandal, featuring balletic soft and elonagated nappa ties that wrap around the ankle. 'We have been using soft leather straps in our collections, and a lot of knots,' Lucie and Luke explain. We are always drawn to pleasant tactility; elements that just need to be squeezed and feel soft and comforting on the body. Adding this feeling was a nice way to make a more feminine pair.'

Craving that weekend shoe for relaxation and gentle rambling? Now you have a spectrum of naturally inclined Birkenstock and Jil Sander styles to choose from, sculptural and sensual, and sure to draw attention should you leave the house.

INFORMATION

The collection will be available at jilsander.com, birkenstock.com and mytheresa.com exclusively for one week from 1 July, then at select retailers and Jil Sander stores worldwide from 8 July

Much has been hypothesised about how we are likely to choose to dress post-pandemic, and how we will approach the summer fashion trends of 2021. Will a new Roaring Twenties usher in drama and decadence, or will we hold onto the low-key leanings we welcomed when spending so much of our time confined at home during lockdowns? Frankly, we recommend riffing between the two opposing mindsets, and modulating between the rarefied and the relaxed, the elegant and the ease-fuelled. A sure-fire way to succeed? Sporting a knee-length tunic dress over trousers.

The tunic-over-trousers trick is smart yet insouciant, and a go-to look for those not quite ready to don just a dress.

For those with a more minimalist mindset, Hermès’ pared-back take on the trend features a dress with a built-in scarf, and nods to the purist fashion mood of the 1990s, when elemental design was a winner.

At Boss, meanwhile, the brand’s jewel-toned dresses feature sleekly seductive cut-out back details, a dressed-up look that is perfectly balanced out by teaming the pieces with more adrogynous, tailored trousers.

Left to right, pet bag, by Prada, H95 headphones by B&O, chain necklace by Louis Vuitton, room spray by Byredo

Summer fashion trends 2021: tunics-over-trousers

At Fendi, the nonchalant tunic-and-trousers combination is enhanced by the fashion brand’s equally carefree window-pane print, a motif on a gauzy sheath dress that suggests dappled summer light and puts us in daydreamy mood.

Elsewhere, Jil Sander’s intricately constructed leather design reflects the focus on ‘visual textures’ of the brand’s creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier. ‘The emphasis on garments and accessories to get you through the day felt right,’ the duo say of the relaxed silhouettes in their S/S 2021 collection for Jil Sander, which revelled in voluminous cuts and fluid lengths. 

All this easy tunic-and-trousers elegance is a reminder that you can always dress up, even while dressing down. 

A stylish pair of summer sandals will send your new season wardrobe soaring. We advocate investing in pared-back styles with minimalist might that will never lose their timeless appeal. Step into these styles now.

Summer sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals

Slip into Ancient Greek Sandals' pared-back Lyra sandals, which are sleek in their simplicity. If you're simply sunbathing in your back garden, they'll have you thinking of the sublime shores of the Aegean Sea.

ATP Atelier

The sunset tones of the Scandinavian label's Allai sandals will have you soaking up the holiday spirit even if you're at home. These styles were handmade in Italy, using vegetable-tanned leather.

Hereu

There's seaside-imbued chic behind Hereu's Pesca sandal, which nods to the uniform of fisherman. If you coveted craftsmanship too, the Spanish label's designs are handcrafted by skilled artisans, using local materials.

Jil Sander

Cocooning and cushioning textures bought a sense of comfort to S/S 2021 silhouettes. These delectably soft thong style sandals by Jil Sander have protective padded straps and a raised sole for added elegance.

Loewe

Fan of Loewe's signature Flamenco bag, which first launched in the Seventies? This chic sandal style nod to the accessory's drawstring pull, which curves sensually around the upper of the foot.

The Attico

Think of these chunky soled styles as an update on the gladiator sandal. These summer sandals tie elegantly around the ankle, well suited to the beaches of Ibiza, where The Attico founders love to holiday, or simply your local streets.

Neous

Architecturally-inclined accessories label Neous delivers on these elementally designed summer sandals. A trio of upper straps secure the foot in a pared-back sophistication, styles well suited to both the beach and a evening soirée.

The Row

Look no further for a lesson in modern minimalism. The Row's effortlessly elegant summer sandals nod to the classic thong style, which returns with more strength each season. Here imagined in a sophisticated two-tone colourway.

Birkenstock x Faye Toogood

One of three collaborative styles between Birkenstock and London designer Faye Toogood, ‘The Forager' subtly alludes to found objects and beachcombed artefacts, with sculptural strap details. 

Uniqlo enthusiasts profess an affinity for many of the elements that comprise the global retailer’s output. Some laud its hard-to-beat thermal wear (Heattech), the softness of its affordable cashmere, the breathability of its AIRism basics, the colourful spectrum of its soft cotton T-shirts, or the featherlight form of its padded layered jackets. Not forgetting the high-end energy of its diverse design collaborations, which span partnerships with brands including Jil Sander, Marimekko, Lemaire, JW Anderson, musicians and artists such as Billie Eilish and Takashi Murakami, and institutions such as The Louvre.

A host of lines live under the Japanese retailer's design umbrella, from Uniqlo U, an offering of elevated sartorial basics, led by Parisian designer Christophe Lemaire, to UT, a colourful collection of graphic men's T-shirts, featuring prints nodding to a melting pot of references, like Marvel, Peanuts, Haruki Murakami, Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein. Impressively, Uniqlo's head of research and design, Yuki Katsuta, oversees the brand’s diverse DNA, working to maintain the balance between the label's utilitarian LifeWear ranges, and its more sartorially swayed collaborations.

Wallpaper* sat down for a rare interview Katsuta-san to hone in on Uniqlo's design vision for the future. Here he outlines the importance of collaboration, the semiotics of sustainable fashion, and his favourite British fashion designer today.

On the success of the relaunch of the +J Jil Sander collection, which first launched in 2011 and returned for A/W 2020:
‘I have to say thank you to all customers. So many people who experienced +J ten years ago came back to us for this new collection. We also had a younger generation who invested in the line. I’m very proud that with his project we can bring loyal, heritage customers, but also attract a younger one.'

On the possibility of one design collaboration too many…
‘Collaborations create a sense of newness, and with our collaborators, we never decide beforehand if we will work with them for one season or many. We don’t have a formula. It’s possible that we will start considering a more concept-focused strategy in the future.’

On the two-pronged approach to sustainable fashion.
‘The first approach we used is based on technical sustainability, meaning how we can use recycled or ecological materials in order to protect the environment. In this instance, we are aiming to do as much as we possibly can. We’ve introduced materials including recycled polyester and down, and we manufacture denim using processes which save water.’

‘The second approach is focused on producing pieces which people can wear not just this season, but for the next three, five and ten years. This is the core idea of our LifeWear collection. We’ve been creating these types of timeless silhouettes for the last ten years.’

On how the Covid-19 pandemic affected Uniqlo's approach to fashion design.
‘Generally speaking, a lot of fashion brands, including us, started selling clothes which people can wear primarily in the home. Our loungewear category expanded and saw growth over the last year. However, we recognised that while people have limited activities, they still want to enjoy fashion and celebrate their individuality. This concept gave us a lot of encouragement and we felt a responsibility to provide new creative energy for customers.

On the importance of a physical retail experience.
‘We continued to open stores over the last 12 months, even in new global regions. My guess is that our hunger will continue to increase for real face-to-face communication and the store as a concept is going to be more and more relevant. Human touch is so important and in-person contact is the essence of communication. You can’t only achieve this by video or SMS message.

On creating a global brand that responds to the needs of its diverse customer base.
‘We have satellite offices in Shanghai, New York, Paris and LA, and separate creative collaborators from around the world. We have 2000 stores in 25 countries, which means I have 2,200 antennas globally. I also speak to our customer service teams every day for feedback on product purchases. I speak to the US in the morning and Europe in the afternoon.’

On the importance of collaborating with JW Anderson.
‘For me, Britain is a country with a history of uniforms, workwear and sportswear. Our collaboration is based on the concept of original British clothing. When I first considered this I wanted to work with the best British designer today, which is Jonathan Anderson. I thought to myself, if Jonathan declines, I’ll have to skip the idea!’

INFORMATION
uniqlo.com

There are some people who would describe their current style as slovenly. If you are one of those adherents, then we suggest you now step away from those slouch-inducing sweatpants and oversized sweaters. Your aspiration for spring should be sprezzatura, an Italianate nonchalance most effectively achieved through investment in appearance-uplifting, lightweight suiting.

Men’s suits for spring: the post-pandemic transition piece

Think of the springtime suit as a post-pandemic transition piece, sitting serendipitously between the sportswear silhouettes of your lockdown wardrobe, and the stiff, starch-filled tailoring of your former office-bound existence. Look to subtly oversized proportions that have a laidback lilt, easy unlined silhouettes and fabrics that welcome the warmer weather.

As we ease gently back into the outdoors, it’s only natural to feel the pull of organic tones, such as chestnut, honey and walnut. At Ermenegildo Zegna, artistic director Alessandro Sartori has looked to the hues of the label’s Oasi Zegna nature reserve, in the Biella Alps in northern Italy, for inspiration, while at Jil Sander, softer silhouettes have been imagined in slate, caramel and sky blue.

For those keen to emerge from lockdown with a more exuberant energy, we recommend offsetting that spirit with an insouciant stance, hands shrugged into loose trouser pockets. Turn your attention to Bottega Veneta’s bouclé suiting, which is striking in its textural fabrication. There’s another winning adjective for your new season style glossary.

INFORMATION

This article appears in the May 2021 issue Wallpaper*, available to download

Chances are, that after months in slouchy separates, you're considering splashing out on something a little smarter. The post-pandemic world calls for a return to more rigorous dressing codes, from tailored suits to smart jackets to shirting. Can't decide which tailoring style to invest in? Here, we present a selection of shapes and silhouettes, guaranteed to enhance your out-out wardrobe, from brands including Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Ermenegildo Zegna and Marni.

Tailored suits: how to smarten up your act

The nylon jacket

A sure fire way to bring a relaxed ease to suiting? Opt for a style in a sports-inspired technical fabric. Case in point: Prada's suit jacket, imagined in the brand's signature nylon fabric.

The pinstripe jacket

A pinstripe blazer is the pinnacle of the 1980s Wall Street wardrobe. Add a touch of 2021 insouciance with a pattern in a wider stripe. This tailored suit speaks of power but is pleasingly laid-back too.

The asymmetric jacket

For the more avant-garde, a jacket with an aysmmetric fit ticks all your alternative buttons. Opt for a style that fastens off-centre. This will brings an eye-catching edge to your collar proportions and corresponding shirt and tie choices.

The workwear jacket

If you can't quite imagine yourself in a fitted jacket, a more workwear-centric silhouette is for you. Think boxy, oversized and with a four-button fastening and opt for stiffer utilitarian fabrics like cotton-drill or canvas.

The skinny jacket

Obsessed with the skinny silhouette that dominated early Noughties fashion? Button yourself into a narrow blazer shape and pair with an equally skinny trouser silhouette. The Noughties has never felt so now.

The white jacket

When black-tie events return to our schedules, you'll want your tailored suit to stand out. Opt for a pristine white tuxedo jacket with a luxurious satin lapel. Avoid red wine and colourful cocktails at all costs.

The oversized jacket

A slouchy, unlined jacket makes for a comfortable spring silhouette. Wear with a light underlayer, like a T-shirt or gauzy jumper, for laid-back modern ease, a look that’s enhanced when rolling up your sleeves.

The check jacket

While check or plaid jackets might feel a touch fusty, they're instantly updated with feel-good colours. Steer away from browns and greys and explore a colour palette rich in turquoises, purples and greens. 

In 2011, minimalist fans with an eye for attention to detail mourned the hiatus of Jil Sander and Uniqlo’s two-year +J collaboration. Unsurprisingly, Wallpaper*s quality maniac-at-large Nick Vinson is a fan of +J, having invested in the collection's mother of pearl button-detail shirts 11 years ago. In celebration of the new men's and women's offering, which launches on 12 November and features timeless tailoring, shirting and sportswear silhouettes, Vinson discusses the tenets of contemporary design with Sander, covering sustainability, fabric research and the perfection of something well proportioned.

Nick Vinson: Why did you choose to return to Uniqlo after 10 or so years? 

Jil Sander: I still feel the need to design and Uniqlo was happy to have me back.

NV: How long has this new +J project been in development?

JS: Once we had clarified the vision and the conditions, the project got on its way at the beginning of 2020. Uniqlo’s original idea was a limited number of ‘best pieces'. But I convinced them to do a collection for women and men, albeit reduced, since the pandemic leads to especially careful calculations. Ironically, the development of the collection took relatively long, because I had to achieve quality and concentration without losing the message.

NV: Ten years on, your aesthetic is as relevant as ever, but design challenges today are decidedly different now. How have you incorporated sustainability into the design and development process.

JS: Sustainability is a foremost concern for me and my Japanese partners. Uniqlo only uses ECI cotton for example and RDS standard down. You find everything about Uniqlo’s wide-spread initiatives on its homepage.

NV: Developing this new collection in 2020, how has Covid-19 and our changing lifestyles affected the collection?

JS: Since the collection took shape in 2020, it reflects the overall mood. The volumes are generous yet fitted to define the body, the colours are understated, broken by energetic colour blocking. Fabrics range from doubleface, cashmere and wool to high-tech blends with standing power, responding to our intensified need to value, protect and celebrate life.

NV: Partnering with Uniqlo, how do you get to use quality materials and achieve perfection in detailing at democratic prices? 

JS: Uniqlo’s buying power, know-how and global distribution network made it possible to lower the production price. +J is a kind of shop window for Uniqlo to show what level of luxury the company can achieve. And I guess, it needed a quality maniac like me to translate that democratic vision piece by piece into a convincing collection.

NV: You have always developed your own fabrics and said the shape and overall look of a piece of clothing is, to a great extent, a function of the fabric. Tell me about one fabric in particular in this new collection that excites you the most.

JS: Yes, my creative process always starts with fabric development. It helps me in finding a sculptural form. This part of the process is always exciting to me. To give an example, we worked for months on blends of techno gabardine or cashmere wool to assure their standing power and smooth plasticity. 

NV: Why is texture a key part of the new product offer? 

JS: Distinctive textures have a three-dimensional presence. They are great for a sculptured silhouette. I have always preferred fabrics which unfold and move in space. But today, in a time where digital renderings have almost substituted analog fashion, underlining the spacial quality of design seems more important than ever.

NV: And why is proportion so essential?

JS: Fashion is always about new proportions, especially if they unfold in 3D space. They help to focus and define a person in a slightly idealized way. Distinct proportions convey a sculptural lightness, and yet, they ground the person.

NV: I bought your +J white shirts 11 years ago and I still wear them, they were built to last, and not a single one of the mother of pearl buttons has come off.  What is about your shirts that make them so covetable and why are they such an object of obsession? 

JS: Maybe, because I am obsessed with them myself, and very much with buttons. I try to reduce the shirt to its essentials. But there is always room for new fabrics and proportions, according to the moment in time. The eye is curious for cuts and details with a new freshness. 

NV:  A garment's longevity is not just about high quality materials and good construction. How does your vision of purism give garments their enduring appeal?

JS: I think that’s for you to say. But there may be one thing I can add. Sometimes the so-called classic design is praised against transient fashion. I wonder whether there can be classicism outside of the zeitgeist. That’s why I prefer to speak of purism. I try to capture the aesthetics of the moment, reduced to its essence.

Information

uniqlo.com/plusj/20fw

For S/S 2021, Jil Sander creative directors Lucie and Luke Meier swapped a physical show for a streamlined fashion film, which showcased the artisanal, fabric-focused and fluid silhouettes in the brand’s spring offering. ‘No distractions’ is how they describe the visual framework which showcased the collection, which also nodded to the crushed automobile sculptures of American artist John Chamberlain and celebrated the endurance of daytime silhouettes. Here, the husband-and-wife design duo reflect further on the influences behind Sander's spring collection, created during a time of unparalleed creative instability.

Wallpaper*: There’s always been a sense of ceremony to your show set choices - from a Florentine church to the huge thermo electric station you showed in for A/W 2020 in Milan. What inspired the stark set up in your S/S 2021 show video, and where was the collection video filmed?

Lucie & Luke Meier: The video was filmed at a soundstage in Milan. We wanted to create an intimacy between the viewer and the subjects.  We also wanted it to be bare and raw, with a focus on the light and the darkness. A purity of image.

W*: The influence of John Chamberlain was evident in the colour injections in your S/S 2021 collection, including a dress with red, white and blue colour blocked panels. What do you find so inspiring about Chamberlain's work?
 
LLM: His work is so bold, yet simple at the same time. We like the movement, the gestures of contorsion. The works feel full of energy, and in a certain aspect you can feel the human hand morphing and changing the form. This is what we are always after in our own work.

W*: Your work at Jil Sander has always focused on  the ideal of timeless luxury, with attention placed on fabrics and hand-crafted details. This is a design approach the industry has drawn attention to in the wake of the pandemic. What effect has Covid-19 had on your creative attitude?
 
LLM: It’s more important to be creative than ever, in every way. Designers need to be more creative, but so do all parts of the supply chain. Humanity in general needs to get more creative to solve our immediate problems. Quality and creativity are paramount; being wasteful is no longer possible.

W*: How have you been working during this uncertain period? When did you return to the Jil Sander studio and have you encountered any design or production difficulties during this time?
 
LLM: We returned to the studios in May.  All our makers and suppliers were quite keen on opening and working again, however some suppliers unfortunately have closed.  We have seen a lot of support from the makers, and fortunately we work quite far in advance so the collections were all quite well developed when the pandemic happened.
 
W*: Are there any artisanal techniques which you developed for S/S 2021?
 
LLM: There is a lot of hand-crochet, pleating, and twisting. Visual textures were important.
 
W*: There was a sense of ease behind your S/S 2021 silhouettes, seen in pleated shirt dresses and layered tailoring, presented alongside elements with more ostentation, like gold boots and hardware detail bags. Do you think this idea of relaxed luxury is essential for our new lives?
 
LLM: Yes, we think it is important to translate what we are feeling, and we thought of daywear in particular.  Evening events don’t seem to be as possible at the moment, so the emphasis on garments and accessories to get you through the day felt right.

INFORMATION
ilsander.com

Today, Uniqlo and Jil Sander announced it is bringing back +J, the lauded collaboration between the Japanese company and German designer, which ran from 2009-2011, to the joy of all wardrobe minimalists. +J is set to relaunch this winter, and in celebration of the news, here we revisit a 2017 Q+A with Sander and Nick Vinson, centred around the opening of her first solo show,  ‘Jil Sander: Present Tense’, at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt. 

Nick Vinson: Why did you choose to put on this exhibition? 
Jil Sander: My archive was not very organised, and an exhibition deadline was a great way to make me speed up the archive revision.

How long have you been working on it?
About 18 months.

What would you say are your design principles?
Innovative quality materials, interesting proportions, perfection in details, energising shapes and a truly three-dimensional execution.

What is Jil Sander’s concept of purism?
The desire to capture the essence of the modern moment as it unfolds season after season. Purism to me means leaving behind unnecessary historical baggage, decorations, conventions, while concentrating on truly contemporary shapes and materials. I always wanted my designs to convey a readiness and openness towards the future.

People may be surprised to learn there has always been room in your life for the baroque. How is your personal taste different from the way you express opulence in your work?
As a fashion designer I tried to do justice to individual proportions by diversifying my collections and breaking them down to multiple possible combinations. The same thing happens when I have to choose the interior design for a building. The house I live in in Hamburg was built in the historicist period at the end of the 19th century by Martin Haller. I tried to give it a modern design, but that didn’t work. So I got Renzo Mongiardino to help me. Under his tutelage I learned that all style periods have a purist version of enlightened craftsmanship and choice materials. We chose a Renaissance interior which did justice to the house and created harmony.

When I think of you I think of the perfect white shirt. What is about your shirts that make them so covetable and why are they such an object of obsession?
I have about a hundred white shirts in my wardrobe. On the one hand, the periodical revision of the outlines of the white shirt is a study in shape, workmanship and quality. On the other hand, these revisions are echoes of a changing zeitgeist. You have to refresh a classic like the white shirt all the time.

Whether it’s a white shirt or a double-faced cashmere coat, fabric development has always been an essential element of your work. Why is research and development into yarn and fabric so important?
The shape and overall look of a piece of clothing is, to a great extent, a function of the fabric. I was interested in materials which lend themselves to a sculptural use. It helps if a fabric has character, a surprising lightness or even a distinct weight. If you want to create new shapes, to start with the material is a great way to get inspired.

Everything I own from you has a special label that reads ‘Tailor Made’. Why is construction so integral to a Jil Sander garment?
If you want to avoid clothes that just cling to the body, you need sartorial construction. This includes the development of patterns, innovative inlay and fine-tuning through repeated fitting. The result will be an autonomous shape that moves in dynamic harmony with the body.

You once said you had a marriage of aesthetics with your architect Michael Gabellini. This exhibition celebrates your creative collaboration with him, as well as with photographers like Peter Lindbergh, Irving Penn, David Sims and Craig McDean, sound artist Frédéric Sanchez and designers like Fabien Baron, Ezra Petronio and Peter Schmidt, who worked with you on your logo and perfume bottles. How do you choose them and what is the collaborative process like?
I like to collaborate with people whose creative work I find interesting. The collaboration itself is a process. You need to find a common language.

The last time I saw you we spoke about your garden in the north of Germany; your exhibition covers aesthetics, material and form of fashion and product design, architecture and garden art. Tell me about working with Penelope Hobhouse on that.
I was inspired by the famous Sissinghurst rose gardens. Our garden project encompassed the design of the surrounding landscape. It is an attempt to bridge the concept of the protected Renaissance theme garden and the English idea of a democratic landscape.

INFORMATION

‘Jil Sander: Present Tense’ is on view until 6 May 2018. For more information, visit the Museum Angewandte Kunst website

ADDRESS

Museum Angewandte Kunst
Schaumainkai 17
60594 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

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British photographer and Wallpaper* contributor Jason Lloyd Evans has been shooting behind-the-scenes backstage snapshots from the runway shows of the world’s most creative, luxurious and boundary-pushing brands, since the early 2000s. During today's downtime, he’s delved into his enormous photographic archive, which spans cities, creative directors and aesthetic shifts, and spotlit his favourite backstage images from brands including Balenciaga, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Prada. Here we reveal these sublime snapshots, which will allow you to indulge in a little sartorial escapism.

Miu Miu S/S 2004

‘This image marks a very different time, when backstage was a much less structured environment.  It represents an unguarded moment and a different perspective to today'. – JLE

Christian Dior Haute Couture A/W 2004

‘Because the backstage area was so small, there was no ‘First Looks' option to shoot the ready-to-wear images.  A few of us were outside and realised the models had to go outside and walk effectively the length of the catwalk out of sight from the guests to get to the backstage ‘line up’. I got my first Sunday Times Style cover from this show by stopping two models for just five seconds.' – JLE

Chloé S/S 2005

‘There was a really great cast of models around this time, always with such a fresh energy, like Daria Werbowy and Gemma Ward. At this time, Chloé was headed up by Phoebe Philo, before she joined Celine.' – JLE

Yves Saint Laurent S/S 2006

‘This image reminds me of how fashion is ever evolving. Stefano Pilati was at the creative helm of the house then, and I had the pleasure of shooting Pilati’s new label Random Identities at Pitti Uomo in January. It was a very hot morning the day of this show at Paris Fashion Week. This first backstage shot as always been one of my favourites.’ – JLE

Balenciaga S/S 2007

‘Nicolas Ghesquière’s shows were always great to shoot. At this time, Balenciaga's venues were always very small and the backstage area was tiny so we never knew what we were going to get to shoot. It was a period when things were much freer and less controlled.' – JLE

Marc Jacobs S/S 2008

‘Marc Jacobs really ruled NYFW during this time. His shows were always the most exciting. This may have been the one that started two hours late!’ – JLE

Alexander McQueen S/S 2009

‘Everyone knows about the intensity and energy of Alexander McQueen and it was always such a buzz to be in his fashion show environment. The amazing storytelling, total theatricality and the commitment of everyone involved in the process was so moving. Everyone was going that extra mile for creating a McQueen's vision and the intensity at those shows was unparalleled.' – JLE

Louis Vuitton A/W 2009

‘Vuitton was a show that was very difficult to get into for backstage imagery, and that time and I never knew if I would get access or not. Here, flash was not allowed but the light was perfect without.' – JLE

Prada A/W 2010

‘Every Prada show is special to shoot. This shot ended up being a cover on Harper Bazaar Australia’s Fashion special. It was really well received and the magazine went on to do the same supplement for a couple of years. They produced a post season magazine which was full of my backstage and beauty shots and was a great record of my month of shows.' – JLE

Jil Sander S/S 2011

‘Working for Jil Sander at this time was amazing. Its then-creative director Raf Simons was really seen as number one and the brand's shows were always so special. This showspace was tiny and I was the only person allowed backstage. It was so special to capture these collections.' – JLE 

Stay tuned for the next installment, covering 2012 – 2020

INFORMATION

lloyd-evans.com

Architecturally-minded Lucie and Luke Meier have an affinity for extravagantly sized spaces. For the duo’s debut S/S 2018 show as creative directors of Jil Sander, they showcased their summer vision outdoors in a yet-to-open shopping centre in a Zaha Hadid-designed residential tower. Last season, their atmospheric S/S 2020 offering was shown inside an open-air courtyard at Pinacoteca di Brera, a baroque arch-lined art gallery and cultural institution in Milan, against a ten tonne installation of gravel, formed from mounds of stone.

Industrially inclined for autumn, the Meiers chose a recently refurbished former thermo-electric station on Via Bramante in Milan for their A/W 2020 show location. It once belonged to the State Electricity Company, and Sander is the first brand to hold a fashion show there. ‘We love the space because it’s a work in progress,’ they explain. ‘We’re here for a fleeting moment and we like the temporary essence.’ The concrete and steel-clad space will soon become the exhibition site of ADI, the Associazione per il Design Industriale.

The duo were also attracted to the venue for its expanse. ‘The volume of the space is the most important connection as we are able to accentuate the movement of the clothes,’ they say of the serendipity between venue and collection, which featured A-shaped coats, dresses in floating silk jacquard and taffeta with voluminous pleated sleeves and a handmade cape made of gauzy silk and viscose fringes.

In a final theatrical flourish, the space was populated with mismatched vintage chairs sourced in France and Italy. As each of the models strode down the catwalk they settled on one of the wooden seating options which lined the centre of the runway. The show may have been a transient moment and it’s venue in a state of flux, but the clothes that featured on the catwalk will last a lifetime.

INFORMATION

jilsander.com

It makes sense that ‘SHOW OFF: Austrian Fashion Design’ is huge in scale. It is, after all, the first ever major exhibition of Austrian fashion. Hence, enormous, visually ambitious, displays show the work of 66 designers, 34 photographers, and 250 fashion objects. It’s not just a numbers game, though. Curators Ulrike Tschabitzer-Handler and Andreas Bergbaur balance size and audio and visual spectacle with historical sensitivity as they carefully guide the viewer through five themed spaces about the social and cultural factors shaping Austrian fashion since the 1970s, from fashion education, distribution, and publications to the garments themselves.

Upon entering, the viewer is confronted by talking heads, a video installation showing projections of interviews with agents, stylists, journalists, and managers about Vienna’s fashion scene. This, logically, leads to a look at the fashion department at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (‘die Angewandte’). Since the 1980s, guest professors like Karl Lagerfeld, Jil Sander, Raf Simon, and Vivien Westwood have informed the work of young Austrian designers. This information is blasted at you from either side as you walk a runway framed by two huge LCD screens by projection artists Lumine showing output from the school over the years.

SHOW OFF’s centrepiece is a huge scaffolding-like sculpture designed by architect Gregor Eichinger containing 40 years of clothing, shoes, bags, and jewellery from designers including Helmut Lang, Rudi Gernreich, Andreas Kronthaler, and newcomers like Kenneth Ize. It allows a 360-degree-view, accessible by stairs from several levels. Most importantly, since the Austrian state does not have a permanent fashion collection, the viewer has the unique chance to get close to garments without them being stuck behind glass like traditional museum pieces.

The exhibition ends with two neon-lit glass cases containing examples of fashion publications about or from Austria, including issues of Wallpaper* and i-D from the late 1990s and locally important magazines like Wiener, Take, and INDIE. This not only places Austrian fashion design in the wider context of style shifts in graphic design, photography, and typography, but shows that, though the Alpine republic isn’t the first place you think of when it comes to contemporary fashion, it is more than a museum for classic styles from the past.

INFORMATION

‘SHOW OFF: Austrian Fashion Design’, MAK (Museum of Applied Arts), until 12 July. mak.at

ADDRESS

Museum of Applied Arts
Stubenring 5, 1010 Wien
Austria

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‘We started by thinking about what our connection is to Florence,’ said husband and wife creative duo Luke and Lucie Meier, after presenting Jil Sander’s A/W 2020 show at the historic Santa Maria Novella Piazza. Connection is a suitable synonym to sum up brands' thinking at this year’s Pitti Uomo 97, which mused on our relationship to fabrication, handcraft, the cultural climate and the natural world we inhabit.

Join the sartorial dots behind menswear’s autumnal unveiling...

Jil Sander

Jil Sander creative directors Luke and Lucie Meier met in 2001 as fashion students at Polimoda in Florence. Since taking the reigns of the famed Germany-founded Milan-based house in 2017, the duo have cultivated a timeless, materiality and handcraft-focused aesthetic that chimes with the artful heritage of the city. ‘Our discovery of making and craft started here,’ the duo said backstage. ‘It’s so important to have the hand touch.’ It’s a prescient message amidst the frenetic whirl of the Pitti Uomo trade fair, that hosts hundreds of brands each menswear season.

At the brand’s majestic show space at the historic Santa Maria Novella, piles of vibrant orange marigolds lined the runway, a reference not just to the desert flowers the Meiers discovered when exploring South West America, but also to the medicinal properties of botanical-inspired products found at the nearby Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy, the world’s oldest (and most resplendent) of its kind. Here, models strode to Bjork’s Hidden Place in impeccably cut cashmere coats and capes, shirts with abstract watercolour splashes and soft mohair tabards. There has always been a push and pull behind the duo’s aesthetic, which unites minimalism with maximalism and the artisanal with the futuristic, and there was a softness bought to the more pared back shapes with fringed shawls, orb shape hammered-metal jewellery and tasselled shoulder bags. ‘We just do what we think feels right,’ they added. It’s an intuition that is spot on. 

Herno

The 72-year old Lesa-based company is a leader in highly performing, technically expert outerwear, and now Herno fans can also put their best outdoors-focused foot forward with its first sneaker. The label has teamed up with fellow Italian mountaineering shoe brand S.C.A.R.P.A. on Herno Laminar Assoluto, a technical trail running-inspired shoe in five colourways, ranging from black to reflective silver. True to Herno’s performance focused heritage, the style is anything but a fashion sneaker, and is constructed using waterproof, windproof and breathable Gore-Tex, and features a Vibram Megagrip sole. The ultra lightweight style weighs merely 320g, and is the ultimate accompaniment for wood, mountain or desert hiking, or simply sauntering to the office.

Armani Exchange

Armani bought a sense of fairground fun to Pitti Uomo’s tradefair terrain, setting up an Armani Exchange-themed funfair, complete with high striker and water pistol games. The brand’s accompanying A/W 2020 collection featured a cacophony of casual and sportswear essentials, ranging from chunky sole sneakers, AX logo backpacks and puffer jackets. Game on!

Woolrich

At the end of 2019, Woolrich opened its Snow Experience Room at its Manhattan flagship space, allowing customers to try out its protective parkas at glacial temperatures dropping to -20° Celsius. For it’s A/W 2020 presentation, it also had something Arctic in mind. On entrance to the brand’s hangar-size presentation space, guests were asked to layer waterproof rubber socks over their shoes, before stepping into an icy snowscape lined with powder-topped trees, with snowflakes falling from the air. The snow globe-like set up celebrated the 190th anniversary of the American outerwear label’s signature Arctic Parka, which has been redesigned for autumn in three different categories: Luxe, Tech and Eco.

Brunello Cucinelli

It’s no surprise Brunello Cucinelli threw a luxurious banquet dinner to kick of Pitti Uomo 97, the Italian label’s business grew an impressive 20 per cent in 2019. Luxuriousness lies at the heart of the Solomeo-based company and it’s A/W 2020 ‘Town about Man’ collection was comprised of sumptuous pieces, including a cashmere pinstripe tracksuit and impossibly soft vicuña overcoat. Burnt tones abounded in the offering, which included sporty puffer jackets with houndstooth panels, cord jackets and rubber toed hiking boots. Cucinelli’s strength lies in its ability to blend clothing categories, and a cream cord tuxedo jacket was particularly contemporary. Now we just need another banquet to wear it to.

Margaret Howell

The British label celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and at an in-store Pitti cocktail party its guests made a toast to its A/W 2020 MHL collection. These are clothes that will travel timelessly not just into the next decade but into the next half century too, including colour blocked scarves, suede walking boots, fishing hats, stripe shirts and duffle coats. Cheers!

Telfar

The Renaissance splendour of Florence is palpable, and at Pitti Uomo guests gather in gilded and fresco-lined palazzos, at times pondering the raucous festivities and high jinks that once took place in their splendid chambers. For Telfar’s show at the Palazzo Corsini, guests entered into a post-banquet scene: a circular dining table laden with leftover-inspired cuisine designed by Spiral Theory Test Kitchen, like littered bone marrow and juicy pomegranates, grapes and half swigged bottles of wine. Baths were filled with punch, table cloths were stained, floral arrangements drooped and partly made double beds and poufs provided seating.

For A/W 2020, renegade designer Telfar Clemens (who counted Solange, Michèle Lamy and Grace Wales Bonner in his audience), bought baroque tropes to his idiosyncratic take on Americana, and to an energetic live performance provided by hip hop group Standing By the Corner and Carrie Stacks, models sashayed and wiggled across the brand’s dining table stage, sporting Telfar logo varsity hoodies, flared denim and colour blocked puffer jackets, paired with striped plus fours, slouchy crushed velvet tracksuit bottoms, laced medieval shirting, densely ruched elastic tops, dandyish pussy bow blousons and ‘T’ logo riding boots. Clemens has long explored sartorial homogeneity and the nature of wardrobe archetypes in his designs – his brand’s affordable ‘T' logo shopping bag, has become a cult hit and is a democratic take on the It bag. Here, the banal was imbued with the baroque in a truly modern take on the Renaissance man.

Brioni

There was a sense of symphonic celebration behind the brand’s 75th anniversary presentation – after all the Roman tailoring house was the first menswear label to stage a runway show at Palazzo Pitti in 1952. For its septuagenarian send up, the label opened up the Renaissance rooms of the astonishing Palazzo Gerini, where framed by gilded cornices, intricate frescoes and jaw dropping chandeliers, members of the world’s most talented Philarmonic orchestras, from Berlin to New Zealand, performed wearing soft Brioni tailoring, in deerskin, washed silk, embroidered silks and glittering jacquards. ‘I wanted to create a kind of haunted house mis-en-scene’ explained design director Norbert Stumpfl of the space, which was festooned with ghostly swathes of fabric. In one resplendent room, father and son cellist duo Andreas Brantelid and Ingemar Brantelid performed Tchaikovsky’s ‘Variations on a Roccoco theme for two cellos’ amidst two banqueting tables which were eerily draped with gauzy white linen and illuminated by candlelight.

Valstar

Street style supremo The Sartorialist could be seen outside Pitti Uomo’s Fortessa Da Basso location, patiently waiting to snap its most sprezzatura-encapsulating attendees. Inside its space, Scott Schuman also made his menswear mark, debuting his varsity-focused capsule collection with Italian label Valstar, pioneers of the Valstarino, a sporty take on the A-1 flight jacket, first designed in 1935. Here, this signature jacket was reinterpreted in soft suede and with a hood, and styled with relaxed hoodies and pocket detail t-shirts, embroidered with the calligraphic letter ‘V’.

Random Identities

Since 2017, ex-Yves Saint Laurent and Ermenegildo Zegna creative director Stefano Pilati has been operating his SSENSE-stocked label Random Identities from Berlin. Stepping into the brand’s debut catwalk show space inside Florence’s old Leopolda station – a vast interior illuminated with red light and smoke – you’d have been forgiven for thinking you’d been transported to a vast industrial hangar of one of the city’s notoriously hedonistic night clubs.

Berlin is emblematic of freedom and fluidity, and these tenets are essential to Random Identities, which since its launch has been framed around Pilati’s own archival wardrobe signatures. On the runway, a gender fluid mix of Pilati's friends sported looks that mediated between evening wear and tailoring, sportswear and streetwear. Like an executive black suit and white shirt layered with a twinkling rhinestone embellished bra, camouflage parkas paired with light up trainers designed in collaboration with Li-Ning, oddly proportioned tuxedo jackets paired with chunky thigh high boots, and graphic intarsia knits swathed around the body. The mood was one of individuality, sensuality and triumph, and at the show's climax, Pilati himself took a turn on the runway clad in a camel cashmere coat and stompy riding boots, giving the audience a final peace sign before disappearing into the darkness of the venue.

Piquadro

The Italian leather goods company had us mentally reevaluating our luggage leanings, with its latest range of sleek brushed stainless steel aluminium suitcases. Available in a range of sizes, including handy carry-on proportions, the styles feature brown grain leather details, silent swiveling double wheels and TSA locks. For the more multihued minded, the label’s ‘Pop Collection’ also presented a series of lightweight polycarbonate styles in sunburst yellow and postbox red.

Brooksfield

There was a sustainable sensibility behind the Italian label’s latest offering. ‘The Green Project,’ sees its denim, knitwear and signature polo shirt reimagined in eco-friendly fabrics and dyes. Soft wool jumpers are knitted in delectable shades of bright orange, petrol blue and grassy green, coloured using dyes found in the food industry. Elsewhere a series of light hearted slogan knits had an environmentally-aware élan, emblazoned with the phrases ‘Done is better than perfect’ and ‘Urban forest not concrete jungle’.

Canali

The Italian label turns 85 this year, and unveiled three diverse and celebratory collections inside Florence’s Odeon Cinema, ‘Black’, ‘Exclusive’ and ‘Canali 1934’. Its sportier ‘Black’ range, unveiled last season, has a more urban focus, featuring hybrid puffer jackets, backpacks and sleek knitewear in shades of black, grey and neon green. Elsewhere, its premium ‘Exclusive’ line sees the introduction of a new suit style, featuring jackets with wide lapels and gathered shoulder seams and trousers with a high waist.

INFORMATION

pittimmagine.com

Increasingly, brands are using their boutiques as places to physicalise the art or design elements which inspire their work. Take Delvaux’s 2018 flagship space in Brussels which has been envisaged as an art gallery, hanging with 20th century arworks, or Loewe’s Mayfair flagship in London, which opened in April and houses the Madrid house’s eclectic art and design collection, boasting a bulging blown glass table by Anthea Hamilton and a pastel-tone mural by Giorgio Griffa. Earlier this month, The Row opened its first European flagship also in Mayfair, brimming with expertly curated and purchasable design objects by the likes of Charlotte Perriand and Corbusier.

Since taking the reigns of Jil Sander in 2017, Lucie and Luke Meier have bolstered the artisanal elements of their vision for the house with architectural and artistic collaborations, from a John Pawson-designed flagship in Tokyo’s Omotesando, to a living installation collaboration at the brand’s Milan HQ with artist Linda Tegg during 2019’s Salone del Mobile. Last month it was announced that the duo would use Jil Sander’s Via Saint Andrea store in Milan as a site of temporary installations and exhibitions, complementing the fashion pieces housed in its Via Pietro Verri flagship. 

‘We have many different items that’s aren’t part of the runway or the campaigns that we really wanted to show,’ the Meiers explain. For the site's launch, they installed bulging sculptures formed from padded down inflation, in a nod to their own fascination with architectural, buoyant silhouettes. 

Fabrication is a long term interest of the duo. Just take the label’s S/S 2020 women’s collection which featured fronds of raffia and paper, beading and elaborate intarsia. Today Jil Sander debuts its second installation, one dedicated to Japanese denim – the country is often argued to be the leading manufacturer of the durable fabric. In a theatrical turn, long curtains of dark denim line the Via Sant’Andrea space, and tubular strip lighting illuminates a range of unisex denim styles, plus men’s denim shirts and women’s shirt dresses.

‘The space offers the chance to be exploratory’, add the Meiers. We can’t wait to see what they examine next.

Information

store.jilsander.com

Address

store.jilsander.com

Via Saint Andrea, 16
Milan

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Scene setting: In Milan, Luke and Lucie Meier have been flexing their art and design credentials. Earlier this spring at Salone del Mobile, the married creative duo collaborated with artist Linda Tegg on a living installation at Jil Sander’s Milan HQ. This week they announced its Via Sant’Andrea store would become a space for hosting monthly installations and exhibitions. The art of making – be it digital or artisanal – is essential to their approach at the brand – and for S/S 2020 the label created a gravel installation of otherworldly mounds, formed from 10 tonnes of stones, inside the outdoor courtyard Pinacoteca di Brera, a baroque arch-lined art gallery and cultural institution in Brera. The juxtaposition of raw materials presented against a finite, fourteenth century masterpiece, made for a striking show set composition.

Mood board: The Meiers’ spoke of a ‘harmony of opposites’, and Sander’s collection was an interplay of androgynous and sharp tailoring, and feminine fluid shapes, like column gowns and flaring dresses. The attention to detail was astonishing here, with marble prints – evoking both psychedelic swirls and Florentine marble paper – and black, navy and organic tones, embellished with crafty raffia embroidery, beading and tassels. A black tailored jacket had an usual keyhole cut-out at the chest, a flared dress was made from a delicate patchwork of cream, sand and silver squares, and a dark blouse had a a weaved funnel neck collar. Embellishment meets elemental, detail meets a subtle drape, opposites aligning in aesthetic splendor.

Finishing touches: Luke and Lucie have been evolving their accessories offering, with its braided strap Tangle Bag and sculptural Sombrero bag proving a hit. For S/S 2020 more interpretations were offered, including delicate minaudières with metal chains, soft clutches formed form a folded circle of leather and vintage style hand bags with futuristic padded straps.

Scene setting: Back in April, the artist Linda Tegg a living installation entitled ‘Adjacent Fields’ inside Jil Sander’s Milan HQ, using plants and weeds gathered from around the city. Tegg visited Milan's abandoned industrial sites with garden designer Matteo Foschi to source material. For the brand’s S/S 2020 show, the models walked down the side of a large frosted panel wall lined with foliage and plants. As they turned on the catwalk, their shadows receded backstage.

Mood board: Since arriving at the label in 2017, Lucie and Luke Meier have had to negotiate an immense legacy – one weighted in minimalism, fluidity and purity of line. The precision that its namesake founder lived by was here for S/S 2020 but in a more soulful, softer way. For summer the duo gave the line a fluidity, although there was a sharp nonchalance in the stiff Japanese cotton V-neck shirts with an open neckline. The touch of the human hand, of craft, was there in the trailing hand-crocheted fringing on cotton sweaters and the embroidered frame pocket details on rigid shirts.

Best in show: Jackets in summer wool had slim notched lapels folded inward. Cotton/linen tailored topcoats and shirt-jackets conveyed a formal simplicity. Epaulets dropped down to hug the shoulders on a sleeveless coat. Generous volumes have been the mainstay of the summer shows as both Qasimi and Valentino both offered a take on the djellaba. The Meiers' offered longer length shirts split at the sides. These generous volumes suggest an airy, roomy luxury.

Ever since they moved to Milan to take the helm as creative directors of Jil Sander in spring 2017, husband and wife duo Luke and Lucie Meier, who grew up by the ocean in Vancouver and in the Swiss Alps respectively, have felt the absence of the natural world keenly in their day to day lives. ‘In both of those places you're surrounded by nature,' Luke Meier explains. ‘We live a very urban lifestyle right now. The city is a beautiful place, but whenever we have free time we go to the ocean, the lakes or the mountains.'

Their pursuit of the organic has crept into their collections for the brand, which is best known for pioneering minimalism – in handcrafted coat linings and AW19 hand-drawn herons, but also in the bursts of green plantlife which invade their otherwise pristine show sets. And as of this autumn, it will emerge, too, in Jil Sander+, a new series of seasonal collections for men and women, designed specifically for life outside of the city. For A/W 2019, the brand has collaborated with Mackintosh to create a series of highly functional outerwear pieces and accessories, which complement the luxurious yet utilitarian new take on clothes for the outdoors.

Each Jil Sander+ collection will also manifest in an artist collaboration. This season, it takes the form of ‘Adjacent Field', a living installation celebrating Milan’s urban flora, conceived by Melbourne-based artist Linda Tegg within the brand’s Milan headquarters. ‘Bringing a living being from one side of the wall to the other can disrupt the logic of spaces that are very anthropocentric and hygienic,' Tegg explains.

Mosses, succulents, ivy and wild sage have all been sourced in and around the city by the artist, who collaborated with architecture practice Baracco+Wright to create a living grassland within the Australian Pavilion for 2018’s Venice Architecture Biennale. ‘Adjacent Field' is supported by a light installation by Nic Burnham of NDYLight. ‘It’s a reminder, too, that we have to take care of the environment, nurture it,' Lucie adds. And to that end: once the installation ends, a selection of the plants will be repurposed to form a permanent, modular garden within the space – a literal ecosystem to mirror the creative one that the brand, which has long upheld close connections with the worlds of art and design, is proud to sustain already. ‘It’s very much to do with living,' Luke adds. ‘Even in an urban environment, there’s an intimacy we can have with nature.' 

INFORMATION

‘Adjacent Field’ is on view until 14 April. For more information, visit the Jil Sander website

ADDRESS

Via Luca Beltrami, 5
20121 Milan

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As a recurring theme in their work for Jil Sander, Luke and Lucie Meier once again took nature as a driving force of their spring 2019 collection, which comes in a colour palette of neutral hues, ranging from almond to sky blue and sage. Left in their raw appearance, the minimalistic shirts and dresses are made out of natural yet sturdy fibres, such as leather and canvas, while skin-tight knits and soft draped skirts also leave freedom for the body to move naturally. A human touch then comes to enliven the jumpers and shirts, through pencil sketches of a nude female form hand embroidered on the pieces, emphasising the refined and delicate spirit of the collection.

Acne Studios

Dance is the main inspiration behind Acne Studios’ SS19 collection. Fluid silhouettes in sheer jersey accentuate a dancer’s movements, while more voluminous pieces are worn over the light slip dresses and tank tops after a rehearsal in the studio. Creative director Jonny Johansson used graphics and prints from old ballet posters patched onto T-shirts and blouses, while pencil drawings of grand opera houses create a toile de jouy effect on leggings and long shirt dresses, enhanced with golden lamé. Drawing on the legendary Swan Lake ballet, Johansson created a print which at first glance seems to be watercolour waves on a white canvas. The pattern then takes form of a swan motif, also reflected in the swan-shaped crystals adorning the garment. 

Plan C

Debuting the first collection for her own label Plan C last September, Caroline Castiglioni – heir of the Marni dynasty – introduced an aesthetic of timeless staples mixing feminine elements, such as ruffles, sundresses and crochet, with oversized silhouettes from the men’s wardrobe, to celebrate a strong and self confident silhouette. There is also something very personal about this collection found in the naïve artworks printed on sweatshirts and clutches which came courtesy of Castiglioni’s young daughter Margherita. Representing her brother Filippo and friend Bianca, the two characters were brought to life from paper to garments making them quirky, fashionable friends to carry around.

Roksanda

Inspired by the work of artists and architects, Roksanda looked at how their art goes beyond their main discipline to influence other crafts around them. On top of the list stood Swiss architect Le Corbusier’s tapestry, murals and ceramics, which had a direct impact on the hand drawn feminine artwork used as a common thread throughout the airy dresses and colour block cotton tops. ‘Our own interpretations of his abstract illustrations are applied in several techniques from hand embroidery to patchwork dresses, and the same emotive figures appear again screen printed onto silk scarves and knits,' explains Roksanda. ‘These studies of the female form are part of my commitment to exploring the art of feminine recalibration.'

Simone Rocha

Born from an Irish mother and Chinese father, Simone Rocha drew on the second half of her heritage, and especially her experience in Hong Kong, to compose her summer collection. Flower brocades and embroideries punctuate the bubble hem gowns with puffball sleeves, giving volume to the overall romantic flair. The real focus of the garments however sprung from ancestral references such as 16th-century Chinese ladies from the Tang dynasty and vintage portraits of concubines Rocha found in a market in Hong Kong. From these images, the London-based atelier created red and gold illustrations traced onto the delicate silk dresses, while elsewhere, artworks were directly printed on the whole garments. A delightful mix of East and West. §

Mood board: Juxtaposition was the at the core of Luke and Lucie Meier’s A/W 2019 offering, which played off the duality of the masculine and the feminine. This push and pull is central to the duo’s ethos, and was played out throughout the collection in soft silhouettes, like dresses with gently bubbled hemlines, flaring tailored coats and easy dresses with plunging hemlines, presented alongside sculptural body-skimming tailoring. The collection abounded in organic tones, from suede to eggshell yellow, sage to pistachio, and offered elegant and refined takes on classic garments, with just enough off-kilter detail. Bustier dresses with handcrafted crochet detail and gauzy knitwear dresses with extended splits, bought a new sensuality to the collection.

Scene setting: The duality between masculine and feminine and the blurring of concepts and silhouettes to create something new was reflected in the show’s ambiguous set up. In a stark industrial space, branches and vegetation appeared to grow from the red tiled floor. As models came out wearing garments printed with herons and sand pipers, the set took on a more aquatic note, as if those boughs were poking through water.

Best in show: The joy in the Meier’s designs is that on closer inspection they reveal unusual details or surprising fabrications. They excel in blending handcraft and tradition with new material innovations. Blanket stitch hand embroidery used to edge snuggly voluminous jackets and skirts, and tea towel patchwork trimming white sundresses had an intimate domesticity.

Mood board: Husband-and-wife designers Luke and Lucie Meier looked to create balance, pairing sharp tailoring with a softened approach to building a modern wardrobe. The cerebral minimalism of the label’s founder has been through a few hands in the last decade and its current gatekeepers are closer to defining their own epoch. Theirs is a language rooted in utilitarian standards; monochromatic elegance. For A/W 2019 they showed hand-stitched canvas structuring within tailored coats; patchwork silks and knits. A calfskin pair of slim trousers with matching casual cut shirt set the mood. It was icy and cool.

Best in show: The silhouette was narrowed and geometric as is their wont – at OAMC, Luke Meier pushes a workwear narrative in pale colours – at Sander, the line is more flowing. Contemporary menswear takes most of its shape from military designs. The bomber jacket, for example, became standard issue for the U.S. Air Corp in 1931, long before it was a staple piece in men’s wardrobes. The duo gently padded outerwear to give it bounce. The clothes had the hallmarks of functional uniforms but with a modernist metier.

Finishing touches: Uniforms inspired more than just the pockets or button placement on jackets. Accessories borrowed heavily from the accoutrements and insignia worn by army personnel, with sleek leather box bags slung across the body, attached to belts. Elsewhere, trench coats were layered over suiting as if ready for their marching orders. A backpack was knitted into the back of a jumper. Trousers were cuffed. 

Scene setting: German label Jil Sander is renowned for its assured minimalism. It’s a theme that creative directors Luke and Lucie Meier – now in their third runway season for the brand – have drawn on and saluted since they joined the house in April 2017. This season they swapped the stark outdoor spaces they’ve preferred as show locations for something a little warmer and verdant: an old factory space lined with wooden chairs and lush, mossy vegetation. On a hot September day, the greenhouse scene surrounded guests with plants and trailing blooms, with shrubs even sprouting through cracked tiles in the runway’s floor.

Mood board: MFW is getting back to nature. Before Sander’s show, Brunello Cucinelli presented a collection of eco-inspired pieces, while this Sunday, the Green Carpet Awards sees its second iteration. The Meier’s used natural fibre fabrics and untreated leathers and canvasses in their triumphant collection of uniform-inspired designs. Pieces in organic hues, riffing on work wear, school silhouettes and dancers attire. There were boxy Mandarin collar shirts with protruding cuffs, medical scrubs-like shirts and flowing trousers, sporty ribbed knits that clung to the body, and deconstructed tuxedo jackets worn backwards as dresses. The silhouettes were modern and yet not without magic, sleek, finely constructed and with a close attention to detail essential for longtime Sander fans.

Finishing touches: In interviews Luke and Lucie Meier have pointed out that they’re keen to bring not a ‘minimalism’ but a ‘purity’ to Jil Sander. Their S/S 2019 offering brought a new warmth to the brand, seen in figurative nude pencil drawings emblazoned across knitwear, and embossed onto the inners of soft foldable clutch bags. The duo’s pillow bags and blankets were a big hit last season, and for spring they refined their accessory offering further with circular ‘Sombrero’ bags, boxy doctor’s bags and minaudières. Like the leafy shrubs growing through the runway of the Meier’s show space, the collection was a sure and confident symbol of their growth.

Mood board: Luke and Lucie Meier presented their second collection for Jil Sander for A/W 2018, a serene and protective men’s and women’s collection packed with enveloping garments, soft padding, and cocooning shapes. The duo were inspired by protective garments for future, but these were not cold or mechanical, they were warm, insulating and swaddling. A puffy knitted jacket layered with delicate organza, boots resembling soft leg warmers, a bobbing circular skirt in translucent nylon knit, a men’s navy cape, jackets with tubes of wool wrapped around the elbow. This was a collection for the future that nodded to the past- the garments boasted a monastic serenity, and were finished with courtly ruching, and corsetry. The duo have spoken of their desire to re-educate the customer about the belief Sander is a purely minimalist brand- and they achieved this with glittering floral jacquards taken from the nineties Sander archive and fake fur overcoats in pretty pansy prints.

Finishing touches: accessories were integral to the brand’s concept of protection. Models carried soft folded duvets and pillows, a warming muff doubled up as a bag, shrugs in comforting tea towel stripes were padded like protective blankets.

Best in show: Luke and Lucie Meier’s skill in fabrication is exquisite, their clothes are ones you want to touch. The duo’s aforementioned knitted wool tailoring which was topped with organza, resembled a hazy cloud. Elsewhere a cocoon shape tweed coat had pockets lined with ribbed knit, details you want to delve into, soft and serene protection for the future.

Left, Lemaire

A jolt of colour contributed to Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran’s ode to German aesthetics of the 1970s and 1980s.

Shirt, £270; trousers, £395; shoes, £340, all by Lemaire


Right, Christopher Kane

The designer’s saccharine yet sensual domestic goddess favoured frothy ruffled details and scarlet shades.

Coat, £3,995, by Christopher Kane. Earrings, £225, by Fay Andrada

As originally featured in the February 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*227)

Far left, Céline

Powerful proportions informed Phoebe Philo’s collection, like this draped dress with an accentuating leather waistline.

Dress, €4,500, by Céline. Earrings, €635, by Proenza Schouler. Tights, £35, by Wolford


Left, Lanvin

In a collection inspired by our fragmented digital age, different looks were spliced together, such as this utility-focused boiler suit and jacket.

Coat, £2,250; jumpsuit, £2,650; collar, £280, all by Lanvin


Right, Jil Sander

As part of their debut for the German house, Luke and Lucie Meier offset monastic shapes against skin-baring chequered fabrics.

Dress, £2,220; culottes, £560, both by Jil Sander. Earrings, £240, by Ambush. ‘Stromboli’ table, €5,800, by India Mahdavi

Left, Dior Homme

Sharp tailoring was offset by a soft nostalgia, evoked by ribbon scarves bearing the Rue de Marignan address of the Dior men’s studio in Paris.

Jacket, £1,600; trousers, £590; scarf, £230, all by Dior Homme. Shoes, £387, by Pierre Hardy


Right, Dior

Maria Grazia Chiuri paid homage to Niki de Saint Phalle, this trench coat nodding to the French-American sculptor’s bold use of colour.

Coat, £4,700; boots, £1,150, both by Dior

Left, Raf Simons

There were Japanese elements to the Belgian designer’s offering, which featured oversized blazers buttoned across the chest in homage to the cut of a kimono.

Blazer, €1,239, by Raf Simons


Right, Hermès

Workwear stitching and movement-friendly shapes did the heavy lifting in Véronique Nichanian’s relaxed offering.

Shirt, £590; trousers, £540, both by Hermès. Scarf, vintage, from Kiliwatch Paris. ‘CH23’ dining chair, £569, by Hans J Wegner, for Carl Hansen & Søn

Left, Saint Laurent

Anthony Vaccarello continued his love affair with the 1980s with voluminous puffball silhouettes inspired by vintage haute couture.

Dress, £12,855, by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Earrings, €635, by Proenza Schouler


Right, Louis Vuitton

For his Hawaii-inspired collection, menswear director Kim Jones juxtaposed monogrammed surfer tops with oversized Wall Street suiting.

Jacket, £1,950; shirt, £600; top, £440; trousers, £650, all by Louis Vuitton. ‘D.156.3’ armchair, €4,524, by Gio Ponti, for Molteni & C


Far right, Louis Vuitton

Meanwhile, head of womenswear Nicolas Ghesquière used leather to add a modern edge to the high necks and wide collars of regimental frock coats.

Coat, £7,500, by Louis Vuitton. Earrings, £225, by Fay Andrada

Left, Gucci

Part of a catwalk collection that blended gender, genre and decade, Alessandro Michele’s gently flaring suit has real retro flair.

Jacket, £1,310; shirt, £355; trousers, £435; shoes, £2,070, all by Gucci


Right, Loewe

The Madrid-based house celebrates contemporary craft in this reinterpretation of the trench coat, shredded into curling streams of fabric.

Coat, £4,890; boots, £725, both by Loewe. Earrings, €635, by Proenza Schouler. ‘Henri’ bench, €4,860, by India Mahdavi

Far left, Prada

The women’s collection sported polka dots, plastics and fake folds, emphasising Miuccia Prada’s fascination with punk, 1950s fashion and trompe-l’oeil. 

Coat, £1,810, by Prada. Earrings, €635, by Proenza Schouler


Left, Prada

For menswear, her triple-layered silhouettes looked to comic strips, retro spacesuits and colour-blocked bowling shirts.

Coat, £3,005; shirt (tan), £435; boiler suit (red), £1,030, all by Prada


Right, Ermenegildo Zegna

Alessandro Sartori matched sports-luxe silhouettes with organic shades, as seen in this combo of caramel overcoat and trousers with jogging bottom detail.

Coat, £2,860; trousers, £800, both by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture. Shoes, £340, by Lemaire. Scarf, vintage, from Kiliwatch Paris. ‘Henri’ table, €11,880, by India Mahdavi

Left, Proenza Schouler

With this corset-detail overcoat, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez gave outerwear silhouettes an eveningwear vibe.

Coat, €3,170, by Proenza Schouler. ‘D.156.3’ armchair, as before


Right, Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld took on the elements with plastic fantastic double-breasted coats, rain hats and gloves.

Coat, £11,740, by Chanel. Earrings, €635, by Proenza Schouler. Tights, £35, by Wolford. ‘Henri’ bench, as before

Poster art: Loewe loves a poster-themed invitation, so for its S/S 2018 men’s presentation, the Madrid-based label opted for a fold-out of a model lounging by a pool at Salvador Dalí’s house in Cadaqués, Catalonia. The poster, part of the brand’s spring lookbook, was created in collaboration with graphic design studio and regular collaborators M/M Paris. Just like the windows of a home, it featured sleek rectangular cutouts. 

Home comforts: Designers were keeping house for S/S 2018, with a series of invitations revelling in domestic bliss. Anya Hindmarch’s came complete with a branded bar of soap, while Miu Miu’s was lined with a layer of sponge – what chicer tools for kitchen chores? More study-focused, Chalayan’s women’s invitation came complete with a pink Post-it note and JuunJ’s with a white collar. Dries Van Noten’s menswear invitation was printed with a retro office interior, boasting an old IBM computer.

True romance: In London, a host of show invitations nodded to nostalgia. Burberry’s featured an image by Dafydd Jones, of two students at the Magdalen Commemoration Ball at Oxford University in 1988, lying in formal clothing on the grass. Simone Rocha’s fold-out included two machine stitched-red figures with gothic trailing threads. Also otherworldly, the invitation to Thom Browne’s women’s show in Paris featured a card with a hand written poem speculating on the possibilities of dreams.

Feeling blue: The hue du jour during Paris men’s, blue accents were seen across the city’s invitations. At Louis Vuitton, an inky stripe completed the brand’s luggage-tag-inspired offering. At Yohji Yamamoto, a transparent black envelope encased a paper concertina printed with various global typescripts, which folded from a piece of sky blue card.

Box of tricks: Gucci presented its show attendees with a metal tin inspired by old pharmacy boxes. Its lid featured a mythical illustration taken from a German alchemical manuscript from the early 1700s, and opened to reveal a sheet of branded, chemist-inspired wrapping paper. Concealed inside? A thread holder, aromatic paper, five candles and a packet of matches. Talk about a hot ticket!

Bookworms: During the Paris womens’ shows, designers encouraged front rowers to engage in a spot of light reading or doodling. At Yohji Yamamoto, a yellow paged notepad was bound in plastic; at Hermès, guests were treated to a booklet listing the components of the brand’s 46 catwalk looks and a poem penned by Jarvis Cocker called ‘Hermès Colours’.

Orient express: Designers looked to Japan for their menswear show invitation inspirations. Take Paul Smith, which mailed guests a scaly plastic fish inscribed with Japanese typography. Or Emporio Armani, who printed an inky Oriental floral pattern onto its fabric-covered invitation. At Lanvin, guests kept themselves cool with a polka dot fan.

Band aid: Brands bought the entrance cues of music venues to the catwalk. From lanyards at Fendi and Versus, and barcoded tickets at Vetements, to sticky yellow wristbands at Marques’Almeida, we’d never felt more like we were with the band.

Hole in one: Designers brought cutouts to their catwalk invitations. Take the circular punches in Craig Green’s offering, evoking the hole motifs in his menswear designs, or the undulating curves in the Akris invitation, which nodded to a plywood sculpture by Alexander Girard (an inspiration behind the brand’s women’s collection). Or the circle cutout of a surreal horizon at Dirk Bikkembergs, and a viewfinder-like chink in the invitation for Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s debut for Chloé. Talk about making the cut!

Material world: Folds of fabrics acted as keepsake invitations. For Dries Van Noten’s women’s show and Luke and Lucie Meier’s debut at Jil Sander, the designers opted for subtle cream shades of fabric, printed with bold black typography. Marni’s women’s invitation featured a fold-out handkerchief finished with messy loops of thread, while Carven’s came with a pouting beaded fish. At Rick Owens’ women’s show, a scarf was printed with an illustration of a futurist sculpture by Thayaht, while at Tsatsas, the German accessories brand created a fabric invitation printed with an image of a rusty shipping liner.

Touch points: Textures were of top importance for S/S 2018, with Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani opting for invitations in sumptuous leather – a white calfskin envelope for the former’s women’s show, and a tan leather invitation for the latter’s men’s offering. At Marni’s menswear show, creative director Francesco Risso favoured a tactile invitation printed on corrugated cardboard.

Clear view: Brands both emerging and established opted for invitations encased in cellophane. Kiko Kostadinov used a press stud to fasten a white strip of paper inside a glossy sheer plastic envelope. For Prada’s men’s show, the brand enclosed a white cardboard sleeve for a ‘Draft Novel’ inside a clear tearable pouch.

Back in 1989, Issey Miyake began making revolutionary, lightweight, wrinkle-free pleated fabrics by feeding cut and sewn designs through a heat press. The innovative Japanese brand's fabric manipulations continue to inspire, forming a strong presence on this season's catwalks. At Jil Sander, the precise, narrow pleats of shirt-dresses were softened by voluminous cocoon sleeves, while at Loewe, Jonathan Anderson finished pleated dresses in sandy hues with shawl-fringed graphic ruffles, and Consuelo Castiglioni's final show for Marni updated chiton-like shapes with colour-blocked pastels and asymmetric sleeves. Meanwhile, celebrating its own wrinkle-free heritage, Issey Miyake's Yoshiyuki Miyamae created accordion-pleated jackets, cut and pasted to form sculpted concentric shapes.

As originally featured in the March 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*216)

INFORMATION
The newspaper section of our March issue was shot at the Uphill House, designed by Robert Dye Architects. See more of the house here