Milan Fashion Week: 10 Best Looks From Jil Sander Spring 2017

Jil Sander's SS17 played on volume and masculinity vs femininity

By Annabelle Fernandez - published 25 Sep 2016

Volume can be a fickle mistress. So can masculine-feminine. Err too safe and there's no tension in a look; it reads flat and literal. But err too far on the side of exaggeration, and you risk gimmickry or worse, unflattering silhouettes. For Jil Sander's spring collection, designer Rodolfo Paglialunga seemed to struggle with this push-pull of volume, which at times worked and at others didn't.

Paglilunga focused on the shoulder, giving belted tops and dresses, leather tunics and blazers a strong, exaggerated shape. Think '80s power suit padded shoulders...and then some. It worked best when he left shoulders unstructured and slightly exaggerated, creating a nice balance between top and bottom.

Where some suits and dresses were left with too-relaxed drape, other looks were more tailored — which worked really well. Tight accordion pleats, sometimes crinkled, lent extra interest to minimal looks like sculpted tonal or colour blocked shirtdresses and cocktail numbers with hyper-exaggerated shoulders.

The suit got a lot of play on the runway. It showed up in black and white pinstripes, with culottes, pencil skirts, double-breasted and reworked as dresses or double-breasted coats. When it felt like the model was wearing her boyfriend's suit, it worked — subtly oversized. Yet the 80s-style football-esque shoulder pads might be a hard proposition for a lot of women.

Paglilunga's final look — an oversized men's shirt tucked haphazardly into a sequinned white skirt was the show winner. The sartorial best for last. Its proportions and balance were just right. Jil Sander, whose numbers have been down the last year, needs to get women excited about dressing for every day. And more looks like this — where art and commerce are balanced — is a good place to start.

From: Harper's BAZAAR US