Simone Bellotti is a designer who likes to have his research done properly. After giving a first flavor of his vision for Jil Sander with the short movie “Wanderlust” which he screened in Hamburg during the summer where the harbor took a starring role lending an original “hanseatischen Geschmack” he used his first show to wipe clean the slate left by all his predecessors to distill a clear and simple image of his new era. Form fitting often layered tailoring met with strong colors and pristinely floating silks. It was not a full on hit show but a humble beginning by a designer who knows how to dust of an archive and inject a new spirit into a house. This twist was missing for the debut even if his usage of fabric slashes around the waist and in front on skirts showed new spatial regions on the body which gave an unexpected subversive sex chic. The whole lineup for women featured leggings and tight layered sweaters to accentuate the body and realize smart color blocking effects.

Linking the past with the future?

One studious trick was to open the show with Guinevere van Seenus who famously starred in a Jil Sander campaign by Craig McDean in 1996 when the brand was at its height of pureness. For Bellotti she opened the show in an over the waist and below the knee white skirt exposing the midriff and mini jumper with kitten heel brogues which set a whispering tone the show held till the end with a mysterious soundtrack by Bochum Welt.

What’s to complain?

Here is a designer who understands cut and line and coloring. The icy blue silks were fantastic. But the men’s wear a tad to repetitive – a lot of suits and coats – and the finishing of the garments often looked a bit last minute.

What speaks volumes?

It’s rare to find the word learning in press releases for a show. In Bellotti’s more than once and it very much embodies his spirit as a designer. Step by step, open minded to fully grasp the brand and gently nudge it forward.