The ultimate Jil Sander show is so rigorously disciplined, and so precisely executed, that it can sometimes feel as if you’ve just come out of a lecture on trigonometry. So single-minded is her view – the purist of the pure, most minimal of all minimalists – she is utterly unswerving in her vision. As she put it in her show notes: ‘High-carat femininity, graceful and incorruptible… Controlled emotion in dresses and skirts…Vigorously articulated tailoring.’
So how would this vintage Jil Sander collection play in a season that has so far embraced as its main trends maximalism and punk? Some will adore it, buy it and wear it to death; others just won’t be feeling it.
For the adorers then, every piece was a master class in pure execution: the coats, in particular, were sublime - hitting mid-calf, in strict lines of navy, slate and sky blue. Some were cinched with a wide velvet belt, others featured the occasional strip of saffron or sky blue.
Sander’s new skirts also hit below the knee with a Y seam at the back to allow the hemline to dip down and add gentle volume; these were the picture of modern elegance. As were the bonded leather skirts that fell in precise wide pleats and were worn with abstract-striped printed cashmere polonecks.
There were punches of tangerine and soft yellow, and flashes of shine in Argentinian beaver, glossy pony skin or the occasional golden stripe, peaking out from the lapel of a dark coat or featuring more boldly across the chest of the final strapless dress.
Most amazing, everyone seemed to agree, were the pea-coats and jackets that just had that slightly oversized, very now, proportion. And the footwear: this season Sander offered three styles: a pointy court shoe, a boot with elevated, chunkified heels that buckled at the front and a flat pointy bootie, its soles sometimes rimmed in red – perfect for the punk trend, come to think of it.
Maximalists need not apply.

See the latest from Milan Fashion Week