Simone Bellotti visited New York City earlier this month, and during an intimate panel discussion, the Jil Sander creative director spoke at length about the codes of the house he has most recently inherited. Most iconically, these codes were solidified in the nineties, faced by Guinevere Van Seenus, who was on the same panel and appeared again today on the runway for Bellotti’s sophomore collection in Milan.
Van Seenus’ return to the house’s visual identity is not simply a token of nostalgia, but an inclination of Bellotti’s direction at Jil Sander at this point in time. In a sunken, burnt-caramel carpeted conversation pit this morning, Bellotti reimagined many of the house codes that have become so well associated—and beloved—with the brand.
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The starting point made clear what to expect from the rest of the collection: A navy blue suit with a blazer cut especially long (as is the Jil Sander way), with a simple white collared button down shirt exposed at the lapels, one side of the collar tucked, one untucked. Here were the first signs of Bellotti’s interpretation of the brand’s enduring conversation with the idea of tension, control, and freedom. As the zeitgeist reignites its obsession with the ultimate minimalist, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Bellotti’s FW26 collection reminds us how the true minimalists operate: imperfectly.
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Hair was worn loose or vaguely tied at the nape of the neck, asymmetry was given away at the collar, a skirt cleverly draped off the hip; all indicators of minimalism done well, which is to say, minimalism done excitingly. There were flesh-toned leather coats with grey tights and east-west leather bags the color of tinned green olives. The flash of a cobalt blue sock intercepts monochromatic brown, grey, and black looks, while elsewhere Bellotti floats the idea of a lilac high-necked shirt peeking from under a sandy coat, or a mint green purse.
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All of these surprise, subtle colors—including the bright red mouths on some of the models—signify that Bellotti understands his assignment at Jil Sander, which has always been about the minute details, something that there was no shortage of today. Skirts made of suiting material were sliced at the sides for both movement and a sense of sensuality, the buttons on double breasted coats and jackets were placed noticeably high up on the torso, giving these silhouettes a neatness, ballooning skirts were tucked into the underwear line at the models’ hips, offering a sense of freedom and lightness to evening looks, which were worn with flat, sporty, water-esque shoes, adding to the casual feel. An ostensible detail: white tacking stitches that held together dresses pooling off the shoulders and at the bust. Sensuality offered in places you least expect.
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The question Simone Bellotti posed this season was whether abandon can convey restraint. Through the logic of contradiction, he answers himself deftly and without hesitation. Yes, his second Jil Sander collection perfectly kept the house's beloved identity, but today, as Kim Gordon’s voice rang out throughout the show space, the creative director showed us that he has more to offer.
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