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Jil Sander: Vukmirovic's Droogie Chic
By: Godfrey Deeny
Photos by Gruber-FWD
Milan, Jun 26, 2002/FWD/ --- The bowler hats, white overalls and black boots provided an
unmistakable image in the Jil Sander men's show, even if it is three decades since Stanley
Kubrick's movie version of "A Clockwork Orange" shocked audiences with its graphic depiction
of urban hoodlums.
"I was thinking of Jean Marie Le Pen and the recent French elections," said Sander's designer
Milan Vukmirovic post-show, explaining his decision to send four Droogies out on the catwalk
near the end of his spring-summer 2003 collection.
"Thirty years ago when people thought of 2002, they expected space travel and a perfect world.
But the French elections showed that we still have the same anger and violence in our society,"
Vukmirovic continued.
"For the collection I wanted something really modern, really new. That's why we used nylon
and tried some new shapes and colors, which I think worked."
By and large, they worked very well. Particularly good were the safari jackets and zippered
cyclist tops in an orange cotton felt, the same colors used in the packaging of the new Sander
men's fragrance given as a gift at the show's end.
Also highly effective were the olive green felt military jackets, futuristic fisherman's
vests, nylon western shirts and baggy nylon trousers, all with zippered ankles.
The baggy pants did have one drawback, however -- they hid the frequently excellent new
sneakers that the house of Sander creates in collaboration with Puma.
Vukmirovic cuts a great white jacket - some of the best in an Italian season where no runway
is complete without one.
His tight, white micro cord jackets were excellent, as was his cream and white seersucker suit.
The show did dip in the third quarter before the appearance of the bowler-hatted Roddy
McDowell types appeared to ramp up the volume.
"I know that 'A Clockwork Orange' was a harsh vision of the future. But I thought the bowler
hats looked sexy," noted Milan.
Oddly enough -- they were.
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