jil sander

Milanese fashion and minimalism may not seem like an appropriate pairing, but Raf Simons season after season redefinition of what minimalism construes at Jil Sander has shown that in a town of full on fashion, the bare necessities can be just as provocative and chic. There is something so sensual about removing embellishments and things that distract to reveal a blankness. This blankness should not be confused with nothingness because Simons' eye for detail and silhouette entails an infinite range and makes you find all sorts of surprises and interesting things that can drawn you into his designs. For fall it was a minimal palette--black and gray--but there some great pieces along the way that resonate and prove that Simons is successfully evolving Jil Sander.

For his menswear collections, Simons has more so experimented with patterns and varying textures. For this season the looks for women finally had a newness in terms of their texture that is typically found in his menswear. Simons' fluid take on sexuality and his attitude towards androgynous dressing is just as much apart of his menswear tradition as it is for women and it was great to see him use some of his menswear ideas for women. The dresses and coats were so simple and flattering in their shape that almost any woman could wear them. Each look appeared to be something familiar, but each bore the impression of a designer consciously thinking and honing the execution of that familiarity. If he's giving us black and gray, it comes in the form of superb tweeds that look like the silent snow on a television screen. Soft and feminine shift dresses, collars that bloomed around the neckline, and a dark, lithe leg evoke a mute Monica Vitti wafting in her own ennui in some Antonioni film, but there was a slight futuristic austerity in those coats and tucked gowns that reminded me something David Bowie might have worn in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." Simons' thought process is what separates him from most designers. The references are not as obvious as the ones I just named because his genius is his ability to look at color, silhouette, and tailoring that results in something powerful and boldly sexy.