At his Jil Sander debut at Milan Fashion Week, the designer got off to a promising start, delivering solid tailoring, nigh on perfect denim, and dropping an early contender for shoe of the season.
Yesterday Simone Bellotti, Jil Sander’s freshly-installed Creative Director, delivered his Spring/Summer 2026 debut for the house. With a no-nonsense black and white backdrop at the brand’s Milan HQ, there were no stunts for social media, just solid clothes that people want to wear.
The Italian designer delivered stellar four-button suits in greys and blacks, with the close-fitting style mirrored in later topcoats and quietly sexy leather trenches cropped above the knee. Sweaters were layered over more sweaters in contrasting hues. And jeans were straight cut, sitting just above the shoe; classic in fit and what some might consider the perfect-fitting denim.
Footwear saw derbies and Wallabee-esque leather shoes with a square toe, being subtly subversive and equally wearable. These make for the ideal sneaker replacement – an easy-going addition to your suit. That’s because Bellotti’s protagonists are stealthy perfectionists with no want for excessive footwear decisions. They’re low-key, cycle around the city without breaking a sweat, and definitely have the coolest apartment in town.
Courtesy of Jil Sander
It was clear from the offering, which surfed through shades of grey, black, pink and electric blue (a nod to the minimalist work IKB 79 by French artist Yves Klein), that Bellotti had studied the era-defining minimalism of the brand’s namesake, founded on the principles of reduction, with a focus on construction and craftsmanship.
Here, Bellotti – who revamped heritage Swiss label Bally with nods to the underground – interpreted these codes in his own way. These were clothes with something to say; proportions were shrunken and played with, trousers were separated at the waistband to reveal skin, and suits cut from lightweight crepe wool. Truly, they need to be seen to be understood. Perhaps they’re an antidote to designing for the online world? Or maybe even reflection of true luxury in 2025.
Simone Bellotti has clearly read the Jil Sander playbook. But with his SS26 collection, he delivered a collection for the now, clothes that people want to wear, and importantly with a point of view.
