“I don’t think that if menswear is going to be elegant it has to be tailoring,” said Luke Meier at a showroom appointment. It sounded like a flip-side POV in a moment when almost every label under the sun is chanting the tailoring mantra. But Luke and Lucie Meier’s line of thought is usually rather questioning.
Working at a label that was one of the upholders of ’90s minimalism makes them inherently attuned to fashion’s current climate—they don’t need to jump on anyone else’s bandwagon. The set of rules they’ve inherited from Jil Sander’s ethos—sophisticated rigor, respect for quality, chic functionality—still underlies their practice. Yet for the Meiers, equating tailoring with fashion’s Holy Grail isn’t enough to chart new directions in menswear. “We love tailoring, but you don’t have to wear a jacket every day to look elegant,” they said.
The spring collection offered an articulate interpretation of what they believe is a modern sense of style. Sporty and workwear references were treated to the designers’ refined approach: delicate touches—sparse embroideries, discreet yet handsome jewelry pieces, a few artistic prints— suggested a gentle smoothing of the angular sartorial choices they’re partial to.
Blurring the lines between the utilitarian, the sporty and the formal is what today’s menswear is ultimately about. The Meiers’ directional take is to keep the garments’ workwear-inflected, structured functionality while amping up the sophistication. The suit of the season was composed, as in many other collections, by a broad square-cut, half-breast boxy jacket worn over short-shorts, or over an equally abbreviated skirt. Traditional shirts were entirely replaced by high-collared tops, textured knits, jacquard cropped tops, or mesh T-shirts. Foulards, necklaces and brooches felt expressive. The sartorial treatment was also given to a fully-fashioned tracksuit in bold bright green, which looked high-end-polished and dressed-up compared to its ordinary cut-and-sew counterparts. “You can look smart with a beautifully cut shirt with just a bit of a drape,” they said. “It’s not a tailored jacket, but it definitely looks chic.”
