It seems that fashion is playing a dizzying and never-ending game of musical chairs. Just as it was announced that Chloé's Clare Waight Keller will be taking over Ricardo Tisci's spot at Givenchy, Massimo Giorgetti revealed he's exiting Pucci (and focusing on his own label, MSGM). On Friday morning, another designer gap was filled: Jil Sander, which recently cut ties with its creative director of three years, Rodolfo Paglialunga, appointed husband and wife duo Luke and Lucie Meier to head up the label.
Paglialunga, a Prada womenswear alum, succeeded the brand's eponymous founder (who, in turn, had left the company three times before) just three years ago. Only in fashion could reshuffles take place at such breakneck speed — but the Meiers are no strangers to this. Lucie put in time at Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton before heading up the womenswear design team at Dior between Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri. (She did so along with Serge Ruffieux, who's now at Carven.) Luke, meanwhile, is one-half OAMC and is the former head designer at Supreme. Given their backgrounds, will we see Jil Sander, a renowned minimalist brand, take in a sports-influenced direction (à la Louis Vuitton x Supreme) — or perhaps even be next in line for a collaboration with the cult streetwear label?
Together, the Meiers told WWD of their longstanding relationship with Jil Sander. "My mother is a big Jil Sander fan, those were the only designer clothes she would buy," Lucie said. "That was my introduction to fashion: She would dress super chic in Jil Sander clothes and I liked their impact, how they would transform her."
Alessandra Bettari, the brand's chief executive, said we could expect "the creation of very clever collections," thanks to the duo's joint vision, which she described in a statement as "modern, cohesive, and in touch with what is relevant now", according to Vogue. The Meiers will work across both menswear and womenswear, and their first collection for Jil Sander will debut in June.