Jil Sander Mens F/W 06.07 Milan

[tuomas]

A few nice sweaters and a nice casting don't really pull it together, i'm beyond disappointed with this. I understand that he can't use his signature silhouettes and slim tailoring for Sander as well, but that's a poor excuse for those boxy jackets...hope the Raf Simons line won't share the same cut.

 

[cerfas]

I'm sick of skinny as well - but I know there are other people who are doing looser fitting things nowadays...and even perhaps in more interesting ways.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I actually remember an interview where Jil herself complained about German businessmen wearing ill-fitted, wider-cut boxy blazers and jackets, and looking back on what she proposed herself, I found the cuts much more flattering than what Raf had shown yesterday. It doesn´t have to be super skinny as Dior, but especially the coats remind me terribly of what is already on the street, but definitely not in a nice way.

 

[pillarist]

Seriously... THIS is what I held my breath so long for? = ="

Not that it sucks... it's just not a very solid collection either IMO. The detailing seems to be nonexistent, and the whole geometry (which isn't so bad as it is a trademark Raf silhouette) mixed with the VERY plain color palette (though one can also say it is a trademark of Jil Sander's pieces) is just taking Raf's whole "future minimalist wear" thing waay too far IMHO.

 

[Pastry]

you know..i don't mind this, at all. i actually find the black and white looks very inriguing, but i think the problem is that you can't build a collection A to B on them.

the idea of boxy cuts could have felt right if the coats had raglan sleeves or looked more deliberately oversized.

marni is really good at doing that. a boxy coat will have well-fitting sleeve, but it will be seamed together in a way that gives the illusion of a dropped shoulder.

 

[travis_nw8]

too boxy - please jill come back(!)

 

[davidwest]

I'm sorry, but i think this is beautiful. Subtle play on proportion and texture and detailing. Very Sander and quite Raf. Nobody wants this collection to scream RAF SIMONS.

 

[susie_bubble]

Um......how about a 'no' to the fit of the jackets. I like the materials he's used other than that....this doesn't tickle my fancy.

 

[birdofparadise]

I think its all rather lovely and I'm attracted to how 'unfashion' it is. These are clothes that really don't even need a catwalk, they're so behind the scenes. It could even be that this kind of very restrained refinement is a progression, in a way, from what the Raf man is. Kind of like that send up of Thatcher that V. Westwood did, 'this woman used to be a punk'. If you look at the collection as a reaction toward something, a progression from one extreme to another extreme, it's very powerful.

 

[nqth]

from
http://iht.com/articles/2006/01/15/opinion/rmon.php

Simons with Sander: A good fit in time of quirky nobility
By Suzy Menkes International Herald Tribune
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2006


Putting a square peg in a round hole is a definition of a bad fit. But when Raf Simons played with rounded volumes and straight lines at his debut menswear show for Jil Sander on Sunday, he showed ample evidence that he has got what it takes to revive the brand.

As the show was so powerful and directional, it was a strong confident start that did Sander proud.

"That's a difficult question," said Simons backstage, referring to how much of himself he had put into the hotly awaited show that kicked off the fall/winter 2006 Milan season.

"I tried to bring in my world with their world - but with a lot of respect to what Jil Sander was," said the usually reclusive designer, who took a bow, wearing the uniform of the show: a sweater with an interesting neckline, a small-collared white shirt and narrow pants.

Patrizio Bertelli, chief executive of Prada, which owns the Sander brand, was front row to witness a show focused on clean, pure tailoring. It contrasted wide coats and jackets that created a boxy volume with skinny pants that ended in shiny laced-up shoes. The coats were sharp, linear and all winners - the most experimental drawn from the cape shapes that are a Simons trademark.

"Dramatic!" said Ron Frasch, chief merchant for Saks Fifth Avenue. "I think the company needed a strong statement - and he delivered it."

Simons, without referencing the past, except perhaps for the faintest echo of school uniform, made the show seem original. He played with sweater necklines, turning the traditional V into curlicues and arabesques. He also worked on textiles, a Sander forte, and backstage the thick padded wools, embroidered polyester and bonded tweeds gave the tailoring an extra zing.

The collection lacked the adolescent sexual charge of the Raf Simons label, but it was totally focused and under control and it augurs well for the designer's first foray into womenswear at Jil Sander next month.

A quirky nobility was the mood of the first day of Milan's shows, with Burberry putting a fresh focus on formal eveningwear and Dolce & Gabbana taking a crown as a emblem and playing with military jackets.

"I tried to express what is in our archives - it is very tailored, very Duke of Windsor and I found such beautiful, English examples of 'black tie'," said Christopher Bailey, Burberry's designer. He was referring to ripples of frilled shirt above oxblood cummerbunds, suits with elongated double-breasted jackets nipped at the waist, worn with woolly pull-on hats, and the elegant side of taut, military tailoring.

With this collection, Bailey may have strayed a brass belt stud too far from the Burberry of the great outdoors, for the raw weather section was the weakest. Yet as a sartorial exercise it was masterly. Bailey showed a new appreciation of fine tailoring, enlarging Burberry's image and scope. He also showed himself again as a master of color, exchanging last year's pop for wine dregs and raspberry shades that looked as good on patterned shirts and sweaters as for the line raking a pair of tuxedo pants.

Bailey's view that tailored elegance can appeal to a new generation fits in with the general mood in Milan, and Burberry's gilded brocade trench coat will be fought over by clients who want more than a rainshield.

Dolce & Gabbana's new fashion militia was a lush take on tailoring. Military jackets were brass-buttoned or at their most striking in deep-pile velvet with intense embellishment, while layers of vest, low, pleat-front pants, shirts and sweaters were pulled together by another emblem of the show: the baroque buckled belt.

"It's a new man, aristocratic but fun, who is not afraid to wear anything - he is confident," Stefano Gabbana said backstage as he tweaked the pants, sitting on the hips, while a vest filled in the torso. The duo called this a landmark collection and it certainly showed a new spirit, focusing on tailoring yet understanding that it can be used as a single piece of a wardrobe puzzle. So the velvet military jackets or lean tailcoats might mix with hefty cords or the military-cut jackets were worn with jeans.

A single army great coat worn with a flourish was followed by the new-look, three-piece suits and by a blue cut-velvet jacket worn over jeans. But this was no magpie mishmash. The effect was a good, strong show, right down to sneakers inset with brocade or gilding and it gave to Dolce & Gabbana a romantic elegance that looked modern, not nostalgic.

At Costume National, there was a more evident glance back to a romantic 19th-century past when tailoring was narrow and the hat was a noble accessory. The designer Ennio Capasa cited Byron, Shelley, Baudelaire and Rimbaud as his sartorial heroes (and throw the fur hats of Rudolf Nureyev in from the last winter season).

Compared to Simons's experimental silhouettes, this show seemed tame, but it was nicely done with just a dash of scarlet in a lining or a necktie to lift a black and gray palette. Capasa brought the tailcoat back in focus, contrasting it with short cropped jackets that came from a poet's corner.

Missoni has the ability to give a modernist spin to its own archives of pattern - and even more so this season when Luca Missoni reached further back to the graphic artists of the Art Deco period to inspire the geometric weaves. They still seemed very Missoni in their rich, deep colors such as burnt orange or stormy purples. And although the models with their slicked back hair, Lounge Lizard looks and cardigan jackets worn with cord sashes like exotic bathrobes might have seemed like silent movie heroes, cardigan jackets worn with contrasting knits and with a bold, flat bag in hand, kept a sportiness that blended with old-fashioned elegance.

 

[Pastry]

I think its all rather lovely and I'm attracted to how 'unfashion' it is. These are clothes that really don't even need a catwalk, they're so behind the scenes. It could even be that this kind of very restrained refinement is a progression, in a way, from what the Raf man is. Kind of like that send up of Thatcher that V. Westwood did, 'this woman used to be a punk'. If you look at the collection as a reaction toward something, a progression from one extreme to another extreme, it's very powerful.

i was about to post that i like the "anti-ness" of this collection. well, with such a beautiful comment there is no need really..

 

[arlekindearrabal]

i like this, the plays with volume are just enough, and most of the trenches are really cool... pretty wearable... though a broader color palette would have made this all the better, IMO

 

[aldo]

Hmm..A lot of people here are complaining about the boxiness and asking for Mrs. Sander to be back..well, i'm surprised many of you wouldn't know that JS had plenty of boxiness from 96-99, and i liked that, i own a couple of those boxy jackets and i like them a lot, especially one that comes with navy blue matching pants. Actually i also happen to have matching pants for the tan colour jacket. Although i never put the tan ones together.

About this collection, i'm not impressed, but i don't hate it. I still really didn't like some 80's looking pieces. Some garments truly reminiscent of the late 90's JS. Which, i appreciate because that's when i used to love JS. Now, how close to JS is Raf Simons supposed to do his collections? we need to take that into consideration also, i sure do miss JS's brain on making tricky things with tricky fabrics.

Overall i'm way happier with Raf Simons that having Milan Vukmirovik along with (sorry Milan, really nothing personal) his rather atrocious gucci-like pieces of s**t. Not to comment on the cheezy super buff models either.

Good job, for the most part. Now i can consider shopping at Jil Sander again. (when i have the money) :-)

 

[RobbertJan]

it's not my style, but i see some ok pieces, ^true about the anti-thing going on, i do like that, but i don't know, there really isn't a piece in it of which i really thought wow i really need/want that, but again it's not my style...
i liked the dolce collection better...

 

[tott]

i don't like that 80's drop shoulder box cut...

hmmm...maybe it will grow on me...
it's certainly more forgiving and easier for a lot of men to wear....
reminds me of old yohji circa 1986...


all these designers coming up today seem to have been influenced strongly by that era...

**the grey cardigan is my fave piece

I also the cardigan. About the 80's, we've been talking about it, and it really seems to have come back! "Designer" 80's as opposed to plastic street 80's. Here, the silhouette at McQueen, Prada's knits... The Japanese feel more relevant than in a long time. It's all about volume with some quirkyness. Wider cuts, higher waists. It feels fresh again after slim has become as tight as it possibly can...

That's how I feel, anyway...

 

[pillarist]

Someone mentioned before that Jil Sander was always about simplicity and quality. I must second that, because the quality of (most) Jil Sander garments I own or have seen are simply put, amazing. So, perhaps it is slightly too early to judge the pieces? I'll wait until I see the pieces firsthand, and if they do live up to the quality of the Jil Sander name, then I'll have to eat my words from my previously "negative-ish" comment.

That and I find most runway reviewers tend to give very positive views on the collections they see, at least moreso than not (even if people who don't have the luxury of attending the show, thus relying on photographs, swear that the collections were cack). Perhaps this is because those present at the runway show actually see the garments in motion? While we sitting at our computers only get to see static images that do not move? Having seen a couple runway videos here and there I actually think being able to see the garments in motion make a big difference. So it's a shame how we can't see Raf's designs and choice in fabrics in motion :-/

Other than that, I'll stick to my previous comment

- Cheers

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I think this answers any questions about quality for those of us who could not attend the show.

JIL SANDER MENSWEAR
MILAN kicked off its autumn/winter 2006-7 menswear season with Raf Simons' breathtaking debut for Jil Sander. As the first outfit hit the catwalk, purveyors of the Sander aesthetic knew they were in for a treat, and what a treat they got! The clothes were simply stunning. No belts, no bags, and no hats, just clothes. Simons took the plunge, working on and re-defining the silhouette. Pants were perfectly mean and shirts blindingly white, while jackets and coats catapulted the male form to new heights. Shoulders dropped as oversized de-constructed jackets, in fine wool serge or silk/wool tonic, cocooned the body whereas coats in the most exquisite of cashmeres, with knitted inserts and the finest horn buttons displayed the new wider shoulder. Even silk nylon or oiled leather bomber jackets were cut with such precision that the knitted ribbing seemed to belong to another garment, making it look boxy and fresh. Sleeves at times seemed circular-cut and reminiscent of an early Cristobal Balenciaga, but let's make no mistake, this was pure Simons' with a nod to the future. The palette was minimal - grey, black and mushroom - and the knitwear equally so: sweaters displayed a slight keyhole neckline and caressed the form, while cardigans with no need of a fastening stayed in place as if they did have. The finale played out to a re-working of Animotion's Obsession, and I'm sure for many, this collection willprove to be exactly that. (January 15 2006, PM)
By Antonio Berardi\

from vogue.co.uk

 

[ultramarine]

Hum ... i have mixed feelings about this ... I dont hesitate that this is great cut and great quality ... but I dont wear it ... i do wear baggy but not boxy .. and I'd wear skinny but its too pricey for me .. which leaves me right where I started

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Hum ... i have mixed feelings about this ... I dont hesitate that this is great cut and great quality ... but I dont wear it ... i do wear baggy but not boxy .. and I'd wear skinny but its too pricey for me .. which leaves me right where I started

Jil Sander is for a much older audience than Raf Simons, I think the looks presented were saying that. I may not be a fan of everything but I could easily see my dad wearing every single look and love it! It's easy, well made, interesting clothes. I imagine this selling like hot cakes not because it is commercial but because it is just really appropriate. I like skinny but could a 52 year old man wear that type of look? This is mature fashion, and I think Simons has really scored win.

 

[travolta]

it looks like an appropriate first collection by raf for jil sander. did you really expect bells and whistles? i really like the cuts. skinny boy suits have become a little annoying.