Rodolfo Paglialunga stepped down at creative director of Jil Sander a few weeks ago after speculation had been circulating for weeks that he was to make an exit from the fashion label. Now, the replacements have been announced in the form of husband and wife duo Luke and Lucie Meier.
Luke Meier is a familiar name on the streetwear scene as the ex-head designer of Supreme; Lucy is a Swiss designer who co-lead Dior for a short time following the departure of Raf Simons in 2015. She has also racked up the years of experience with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton and with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga.
Jil Sander has suffered in recent years with constant changes at the helm of the brand that once set the standard for minimalism in fashion. Jil Sander himself has even come and gone several times over the years. However, the fashion house is clearly hoping that bringing this new power couple on board will be a winning formula and mark the start of Jil Sander’s return to the forefront of the fashion world.
It is a bold move but one that is certainly in line with the current zeitgeist given fashions appetite for cross-branding, breaking the status quo and streetwear influence over recent years.
The Meiers debut collection for Jil Sander will take to the runways for Spring 2018 and all eyes will be on what direction the brand will be taking from here.