Lucie and Luke Meier are stepping down after staging their final show for Jil Sander at Milan Fashion Week, announces Jil Sander, after leading the OTB Group-owned luxury fashion brand for eight years as its creative directors. Their replacement is not announced yet.
Jil Sander
Milan-based quiet luxury brand Jil Sander’s Creative Directors Lucie and Luke Meier are exiting. The move comes two weeks after Serge Brunschwig was named CEO of Jil Sander, as well as chief strategy officer of OTB Group.
The Milan-based house announced the end of the couple’s tenure as co-creative directors in a statement on 26 February, just after their final show for Autumn Winter 2025, “The designers seize this occasion to express their heartfelt gratitude to OTB and the Jil Sander teams who have consistently dedicated their energy, passion, and talent to this project, and are proud of the work they have accomplished alongside such wonderful people.”
There is no animosity. Renzo Rosso, chairman of OTB Group, said he “wishes to thank Lucie and Luke for their vision, passion for excellence, and dedication to the brand”. The company didn’t share any information about the succession plan. As for the Meiers, they’re likely to be in demand after their creatively successful tenure at Jil Sander.
Lucie and Luke Meier
The husband and wife duo joined Jil Sanders as co-creative directors in 2017, reinvigorating the luxury fashion brand with their take on minimalist femininity, with sharp collections that showcase artisanal craft integrated with a modern sensibility.
With their combined backgrounds—Lucie having worked at Dior and Balenciaga, and Luke co-founding the streetwear label OAMC—their creative approach combined precise tailoring with contemporary minimalism. Their tenure at Jil Sander was marked by a commitment to craftsmanship, luxurious fabrics, and a balance of structured silhouettes with softer, organic elements.
Under their leadership, Jil Sander expanded its aesthetic, integrating artistic influences and a subtle play on texture and proportion. The Meiers introduced fluid draping, relaxed silhouettes, and a fresh interpretation of utility-inspired designs. Their departure in 2024 marked the end of a successful era for Jil Sander, leaving behind a legacy of intelligent design that honoured the house heritage while pushing it forward into a new, contemporary space.
Per Elle: ‘For their final Jil Sander collection, titled ‘A bright metaphor of love’, the Meiers created a tactile collection built around turning darkness (‘the hues that seem to soak our times,’ they said) into light, with plush shearling coats and ribbon-adorned gowns shown alongside tinsel-esque fringed skirts and dresses and silk shirts with sequin bib detailing, that shimmered as they caught the light.’
Jil Sander through the years
Launched in 1968 by German fashion designer Jil Sander, the eponymous luxury fashion brand is dedicated to modern design and innovation, combining elegance and functionality, invention and purity of form, exceptional craftsmanship and advanced production techniques.
Jil Sander
The fashion house presented its first women’s collection in Hamburg in 1973. The clean-lined designs signalled luxury clothes for a new generation of businesswomen. Three years later, Jil Sander GmbH was founded in Hamburg. In 1994, the brand’s first showroom opened in Milan, later becoming the creative and operative headquarters of the company.
The first Jil Sander men’s collection was presented in Milan in January 1997, introducing a very specific vision, through clear yet comfortable cuts and extremely refined tailoring. With a creative legacy of streamlined purity, the brand has pioneered a different conception of luxury and elegance, enriching the world of fashion with a distinctive voice and an original approach to design.
In March 2021, Jil Sander was acquired by OTB Group and is working towards the goals set by the Group Sustainability Strategy. “Be Responsible. Be Brave” is OTB’s vision for a more responsible fashion system, guiding its collective work to reduce their impact on the planet.
“In 2023, OTB reported a €1.9 billion turnover, 33.8 percent direct channel growth and a grand total of 610 direct stores globally”, per Vogue Business. “Jil Sander, which is creatively directed by the husband and wife team Luke and Lucie Meier, recorded a 17.3 per cent growth in that same period.” Jil Sander’s revenue for 2024 has not been disclosed.
In line with the Group’s retail expansion strategy, Jil Sander opened the new Ginza-Tokyo flagship store, which, with a surface of over 1,000 square metres. To extend the brand’s presence into new product categories, Jil Sander launched its first Fine Jewellery Collection in December 2024. This line strengthens Jil Sander’s modern, sophisticated portfolio and positioning in the luxury sector. In January 2025, two years after renewing the licensing agreement with Coty, Jil Sander launched its first premium fragrance collection, officially entering the haute parfumerie segment.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
