Anti-fascist protests in the center of Milan brought traffic to a standstill late this afternoon. With Italy’s national elections looming, demonstrators were rallying against a rising tide of xenophobia. The events made Lucie and Luke Meier’s statement backstage more poignant: “It’s a collection about the future, but in a human, warm, comforting way. When you read the news, it sounds like everything is going downhill, and it’s going to be terrible,” said Lucie. “We want to make ourselves feel good about the future and think about it in a positive way.”
To do so, the Meiers, now in their second runway season at Jil Sander, chose what they considered comforting fabrics and enveloping silhouettes. The first look to walk down the expansive runway was a strictly tailored jacket made from thick-gauge wool encased in organza. Luke insisted that it was remarkably light. Other soft materials followed: a blue-and-white floral downy fleece was cut into a double-face cocoon coat, and many of the models—both female and male—either carried duvets or wore them draped around the shoulders or cinched around the waist. The concept was clear, but it seems unlikely to catch on in real life. Wrapped around the shoulders, those duvets would actually be quite restrictive. A more compelling idea were the gracefully askew ribbed knit sweaters and skirts, and sweat-suiting tops and bottoms. In red or navy, the ribbed knits especially had a chic sense of ease that will make them attractive to a lot of women.
The Jil Sander references were oblique. The Meiers seem inclined to embellish the minimalistic tailoring she was known for: with bicep-cinching armbands that served no obvious purpose, or with schoolgirl sailor collars for women and shoulder-spanning spread collars for men. These weren’t necessarily offensive, but they weren’t all that compelling either.
The Meiers’ instincts are right: Most of us are craving succor and communion. A first step going forward would be to find a more intimate setting for their show. Getting up close to the clothes might make it easier to make that connection they were talking about.
