Jil Sander Fall 2013

With Jil Sander back at her namesake label and Raf Simons settled in at Dior, doesn't it feel like the forces of minimalism just can't be stopped? Sander's Fall 2013 collection, shown Saturday in Milan, certainly made a strong case for that, anyway. Read on for more.

"Spirited poise, effortless modernity, and a regal figure," Sander said, summarizing the collection backstage. With a focus on precise tailoring, the pieces the designer sent out embodied those three ideals to a T. Wool and cashmere coats were both structured and fluid thanks to geometric lapels, emphatic pocket flaps, dropped shoulder seams, and oversize, rounded silhouettes. Sweaters, too, were a studybrand> in balance. Paired with pleated a-line skirts in thick, glossy leather, their fine cashmere draped softly round the torso while their high necks, curved shoulders, and roomy sleeves provided a perfect architectural frame.

Dresses and tops in wool and tweed demonstrated a similar sense of deliberate power, with carefully placed seams and draped-pleating serving to add restrained volume and shape. "High-carat femininity, graceful and incorruptible . . . Controlled emotion in dresses and skirts . . . Vigorously articulated tailoring," the show's notes explained.