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Jil Sander

MILAN, January 16, 2005
By Tim Blanks
This was Jil Sander's final collection for the house that bears her name (she announced in December that she was parting ways with Prada Group, which owns the label, for the second and last time.) Ironic, then, that the show had echoes of the influential Prada aesthetic, especially in its use of techno fabrics and matching shirt-and-tie combos, both monochrome and plaid. With anyone else, these could have been read as a case of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." But in fact, this calm, measured presentation felt like nothing so much as a designer withdrawing at the top of her game.

From a start that was somber (layered black coats, one wool, one techno-synthetic), even sinister (a white shirt with skinny black tie and black gloves), the show opened out to offer the quietly irresistible clothes that have always been this designer's trademark. Double-pleated gray flannels with a Fair Isle sweater had a Gary Cooper elegance. Among a handful of immaculately constructed coats, a navy wool duffel was the standout. And even at the last, Sander continued to push forward, adjusting silhouettes by making her jackets shorter, or expressing her antipathy for useless ornament by removing sleeve buttons on coats and jackets (hallelujah!).

So what next for the house that Jil built? Prada's plans for the label include building an accessories business, evident here in the selection of bags on parade. And an upbeat commitment to continuity seems to be the order of the day. As the show notes promised, "The beat goes on."

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