When Lucie and Luke Meier took the helm at Jil Sander in 2017, they brought an ethos of soulful sensitivity to the label, with a goal to create timeless clothing that’s meant to last. They maintained this philosophy as the guest designers of Pitti Uomo 97, where they showed their Fall/Winter 2020 collection in one of Florence’s most iconic landmarks: the complex of the Santa Maria Novella, the Catholic church that was completed in 1470, where piles of marigolds lined the aisles. The husband-and-wife team centered the collection around the idea of craftsmanship, connecting the ancestral to the present with handmade luxury. 

Japanese wool and tweed coats and suits were skillfully tailored and layered with fringed scarves, and cashmere capes, fastened with oversized pins that were hammered by hand. The designers created a plastron—the protective pad worn over a fencer’s chest—of felted wool, worn over an elongated shirt made of organic cotton. Chunky turtleneck sweaters were repurposed as sleeveless outer layers, and shiny sterling silver pendants were embroidered onto capes and shirts, adding a touch of sparkle and texture. Hand-knotted ropes and crochet straps adorned the iconic Jil Sander leather postman bag—reinterpreted into a triangular shape—as well as on crossbody bags and flat totes. 

The duo imposed a sort of tension onto the collection, merging volume with sharp, geometric lines. Their love for nature, a constant trope in their practice, manifested in the soft watercolors of desert flora and fauna on prints featured on shirts and the lining of overcoats. Leather jackets dotted with silver accents and eagle-shaped brooches and pins were subtle nods to the American Southwest.  To the Meiers, time is the ultimate luxury, and that is referenced through the materials and painstaking methods they used to create this collection.