The morning after their Autumn Winter 2026 show in Copenhagen, Anne Sofie Madsen and Caroline Clante look as though they have not quite come down from it. Sleep has been scarce. After the show they went out with the team — a few beers, a late night.
A#21 Lucie and Luke Meier
Jil Sander’s Winter Poetry
Photography by Adam Katz Sinding
Photography by Adam Katz Sinding
A sense of eclecticism reverberated throughout Jil Sander’s Autumn Winter 2023 collection, marking five years of the German-Canadian designers and A#21 curators Lucie & Luke Meier at the helm. Presented in a warehouse in the outskirts of Milan, models meandered through the industrial space furcated into circular sections, each bound by rings of white quilted chairs and illuminated with a singular spotlight.
‘Fuzzy, technical, mobile, ethereal,’ the amalgamation reflected and embraced the current zeitgeist of hyperstimuli, where self-expression takes references from anything and everywhere — from sportswear and motorcross to opulent full dress. The identity of each look, coming and going from beyond the shadows, suggested an overarching departure from German minimalism and instead affirmed the duo’s contemplation of the multiplicities that constitute individuality. What staunchly remained, however, was a mastery of technique in constructing bold silhouettes and sleek forms.
As evidenced in A Magazine Curated By Lucie & Luke Meier, the designers favour a reflective, intelligent approach to craft. The human experience is dissected into memories, and reassembled through garments that blur the plethora of formative recollections into pieces that are both personal yet universally relatable. A sweetness in this trip down memory lane is emphasized through cherry and candy drawings knitted into wool and printed on felt and denim, while aluminium flowers on a cotton dress and reoccurring rose motifs hint at the fragrance of halcyon.
The collection speaks to a nuanced definition of individuality, where ‘the combinations are infinite, the spirit is light.’ Amplifying this message was a preternatural score featuring ‘All Neon Like’ by Icelandic musician Björk, before an optimistic finale interspersed with excerpts from ‘On The Pulse of Morning’ authored and recited by Maya Angelou. Lucie & Luke Meier’s collection certainly communicates what the American poet proclaims, ‘The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change.’
Below is an exclusive portfolio of backstage imagery from the Jil Sander Autumn Winter 2023 collection.
A Magazine Curated By Lucie & Luke Meier (2020)
Photography by Adam Katz Sinding
Photography by Adam Katz Sinding
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