Jil Sander Spring 2017 Menswear

“I wanted to convey a sense of relaxed lightness,” said designer Rodolfo Paglialunga backstage after Jil Sander’s Spring men’s show. He tried to bring a natural ease to the quite strict house codes, without betraying their substantial legacy. Lines were clean, bordering on the severe, with an almost purist bent. Paglialunga worked around a concept of reduction and restraint, peeling off, as the press notes stated, even the slightest layer of “the superfluous”—a term that, by the way, has never been even remotely associated with Sander’s style.

The show was a rendition of classic Sander staples, almost archetypal—boxy workwear-inspired blousons, unstructured cotton suits with controlled volumes, dusters of ample near billowy proportions. It looked pared down and practical, a modular wardrobe for the modern zeitgeist. Fabrics were light yet textured; the color palette spanned from luminous hues—pale blues and grays, delicate greens—to sun-bleached, ombré effects that, as Paglialunga described, gave an almost “foggy” patina to part of the lineup. It was testament to the designer’s sophisticated flair, yet it darkened the summery mood, bringing it down a notch. A well-needed jolt of energy came via a leather blouson in a bright shade of sunny orange. Seeing more of that spirit would’ve been a welcome choice—it wouldn’t have been be considered at all “superfluous.”