Often, when a creative director exits a brand, they’ll leave us with a parting gift. When Jonathan Anderson left Loewe, his last goodbye was one final campaign featuring Josh O’Connor. When Y/Project sadly shut down at the start of the year, it surprised us with one final collection – a collaboration with Marc Jacobs’ Heaven. Now, former Jil Sander designers Lucie and Luke Meier have delivered their swan song, a collaboration with luxury outerwear brand Moncler.
After the ex-creative directors left their post back in February this year, today (November 18), the couple’s final project for the German brand has been unveiled. First teased over a year ago during the epic Moncler Genius event in Shanghai, we now get a full view of the entire Jil Sander x Moncler collection.
To think of Moncler is to think of extravagant, cloud-like puffer jackets. It’s a brand that is usually instantly recognisable – take those Valentino, Richard Quinn or Simone Rocha quilted gowns, for example. However, while this new collaboration remains inherently Moncler, it’s also very Jil Sander: simple, soft and elegant. That classic Moncler beehive shape has been stripped back and replaced by clean lines and voluminous layers.
Inspired by the natural world, this collection skillfully balances the pragmatism of Moncler with the minimalism of Jil Sander. While the silhouettes may be more subtle than is typical of the outerwear brand, the ‘roundness’ of nature also served as inspiration – snow-capped peaks, rolling hills and smooth pebbles all informed the curved, bulbous jackets, padded cardigans, and dome-shaped skirts. Even the Moncler logo is displayed as a smooth, silver pin.
Jil Sander may be the latest in a long line of Moncler collabs, but the Meiers have certainly taken a different route to their predecessors – a collection with minimalism at its core. See the full campaign by clicking through the gallery above.