Jil Sander SS26: Simone Bellotti Debuts With Armor For Optimists
The Italian designer’s debut juxtaposes austere tailoring with sheer fabrics, and electric color with pared-back neutrals.
Summary
- Simone Bellotti presented his debut collection for Jil Sander at Piazza Castello, near the brand’s historic headquarters.
- The collection combined bold color choices with architectural tailoring and minimalist sensibilities — a lighter and refined development from Luke and Lucie Meier’s tenure, which ended this year.
On Wednesday, Jil Sander presented its SS26 collection in a white sunlit room within the historic Piazza Castello — a few meters from the brand’s headquarters.
The show, marking Simone Bellotti’s debut collection for the German label, departed from the dark and moody closing seasons helmed by Luke and Lucie Meier. Instead, Bellotti wiped the slate clean and let the light in, allowing the core of Jil Sander’s ethos to shine: “pure” and “honest”. Those are the words Bellotti emphasized to Vogue the day before his presentation.
Toned down are the Meiers’ expressive prints and glam embellishments, but Bellotti’s hues are elevated with energy: electric blue, primary red, and ultraviolet. The bold colors are backed by a solid foundation of neutrals, characteristic of Jil Sander, charcoal grays, off-white, taupe, black, and white.
The show opened with the minimal, architectural tailoring Jil Sander is known for: geometrically paneled knee skirts, slim-fitting suits with unusually roomy pockets, and armor-like coats with bold arms and tapered waistlines. Then Bellotti taps into the brand’s more avant-garde sensibilities with an austere violet smock dress featuring a central crease.
Elsewhere, a liquid chrome skirt, a floral PVC dress, and sheer jewel-toned numbers echo the many faces of Jil Sander through its varied directors. If those descriptions seem cluttered, what is consistent is the feeling of clarity, restraint, and balance throughout the collection.
Bellotti was selected as Jil Sander’s succeeding creative director at the beginning of the year when the Meiers stepped down from their almost decade-long tenure at the brand. Since then, Bellotti has emphasized his commitment to carrying Sander’s legacy from an authentic place — teasing the new chapter with a focus on the brand’s Hamburg roots.
The collaborative EP with Bochum Welt, released a month ahead of the show, was accompanied by Hamburg-set visuals, evoking Sander’s early days in the city. Coincidentally, Bochum Welt’s debut was released via Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label in 1994, the same year Jil Sander’s first showroom opened in Milan — now the creative and operative headquarters of the company.
Stay tuned to Hypebeast for the latest fashion industry insights and see the full Jil Sander SS26 collection above.
