One of the debuts of Milan Fashion Week was that of designer Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander. The brand new creative director chose to return to the Milanese headquarters of the brand from which he got inspiration for his first collection.
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The last time the fashion house in its own office showed the collection was in 2017 led by creative director Rodolfo Paglialunga. Since then, design duo Lucie and Luke Meier has been the head of the brand, which left in 2025. Bellotti mentions the return to the head office in the show notes ‘a new beginning’.
The style of Jil Sander, the founder of the fashion house, is characterized by minimalism. Bellotti seems to have taken this to heart. “Is it possible to leave out and at the same time put a personal stamp? Makes less, more possible? Is it better to opt for directness or refinement, to add layers or to remove, to polish up to perfection or to leave something unfinished?” All questions that the creative director has asked himself.
The debut collection is focused around ‘Pureness as a mode, not as a limitation’. Both women’s and men’s clothing appeared on the catwalk in a contrast of gloomy neutral shades with pastel shades to lively colors. For example, a dark blue is combined with red or butter yellow, orange with gray, pastel pink with brown. This honors the heritage of the brand, Sander liked to combine white or black with a pronounced color. Bellotti chooses to expand the color palette a little further and to do more to colorblocking.
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Simone Bellotti makes his debut with Jil Sander: a new start from the Milanese headquarters
The silhouettes are ‘sleek vertical’, according to the show notes. A surprise are the small cut -outs, like a cut in paper. They can be seen halfway through a skirt or just below the waist. A larger hole is made in a top and two dresses where a large part of the hull can be seen, with a bralette underneath. Playing with shape comes back very subtly in jackets that have just a rounder shoulder and sleeve, or are just bundled at the buttons.
The debut of Bellotti feels faithful to Sander’s heritage, instead of a designer who imposes his personal style at a brand that comes completely from a different angle. This is not a star designer who takes his fans and entourage to a new fashion house, but someone who has respect for the history of the brand, refreshes it and shows something authentic without too much fuss.
