JIL SANDER | FALL WINTER MEN'S COLLECTION 2021/22

FALL WINTER MEN’S COLLECTION 2021/2022
PARIS, JANUARY 2021

Intimate, sharp, layered, utilitarian. A seminal wardrobe of suits, coats and knitwear in exaggerated proportions and a unique colour palette. Designed to clearly separate the figure from its background. The collection is an interplay of lean and soft garments that perfectly mirrors the shifts between our need for privacy and touch, our desire to glow and connect, our lives in the city. Every look is unique. We are one, whether we consider it to be singular or plural.

The balance of opposites at the core of Lucie and Luke Meier’s work finds here new forms and silhouettes. Smart men turn, and wear, their emotions inside-out. Unafraid of being, and showing to be, manifold. The photographic portraits of women artists and designers of the Bauhaus that Florence Henri shot in the 1920s, abstract, modern and sensitive at the same time, have been enlarged and printed on canvas and sewn onto tailored jackets and coats, and knitwear. Silver necklaces with the hand-written word “Mother” declare the importance of kinship - now more than ever. The high necks of coats are fastened by jewel buttons, or a shell. A large silver plastron made of simple geometric forms, an ancestral armour, worn over soft jumpers synthesize the reciprocity of strength and vulnerability that Lucie and Luke Meier consistently suggest. Being a couple is not fortuitous in this process.

The handmade and the technical seamlessly merge. Pristine suits in sharp dry wool, with straight elongated jackets, with zipped pockets, and cropped or narrow trousers, are worn with pullovers, instead of shirts. Knee-length boots with strong treaded soles, in black pastels or lilac, firmly anchor the silhouette, which is generally more voluminous at the top and slender at the bottom. When shirts appear, they are knitted or fluid and oversized.

The uniform-inspired coats and trenches, in Tuscan double-faced wool or in coated, waterproof cotton, are either graphic and fitted, with invisible buttons and no lapels, or find a striking new balance with exaggerated collars and pocket flaps. A double-breasted coat, in enlarged plaid hazy wool, stands simultaneously for noncompliance and home.

Soft, experimental, hand-made, and extremely refined, knitwear is a key element of the collection. Sharp graphic colouring contrasts rich knit structures. Contrast - tone intarsia gives depth to warm cashmere sweaters. Connections are delicate, detailed, textured, tactile.

Bags in flat, sharp belted forms lend geometry and shine, and are integrated as part of the silhouette. Plump soft nappa forms add a domestic pillowy comfort. Squared tote bags in natural leathers offer functional yet luxurious grounding.

The hues and nuances of the colour palette are rich, and shift from the natural to the utilitarian : off-white, butter, light mint green, sand, beige, and cocoa contrast, and complement lilac, lipstick, mauve, iron, lemon, navy, and black.