The "mille-feuille of color" that was the Jil Sander Spring show has been dialed down several notches for pre-fall. Raf Simons did turn out a boxy, slightly oversize parka in a bright, seventies-ish orange inspired by a Scandinavian furniture fabric. But overall, the look was more subdued and more masculine—more signature Simons, in other words—with wear-to-work pieces in place of T-shirts and couture ball skirts.
That doesn't mean there weren't things to get excited about, chief among them an excellent color-blocked shift that mixed shades of gray and navy with that orange. A brushstroke print influenced by the Russian painter Serge Poliakoff added a lush, earthy element to Simons' precisely tailored pantsuits and the tunics he paired over narrow pants in the emerging style of the season. As always at this house, the fabrics were top-notch. Among the coolest executions: an oxblood leather peacoat that reversed to slate nylon.
