Quiet luxury brainwashed everyone that minimalism is boring, beige, and overall bleh, but it’s not. True minimalism is avant-garde, exciting, and even, at times, a radical new answer to an age-old question—something that Simone Bellotti understands at Jil Sander very well. Whether it’s a sheer paneled cream argyle sweater dress or the purposefully frumpy top button of a jacket, each item sits firmly in the off-kilter. And just when you think you can predict where Bellotti going next, he throws in some dense, scenic prints for good measure.—Alexandra Hildreth
It was a bumper London Fashion Week—the return of McQueen, Christopher Kane’s slick debut at Mulberry, and a stellar Erdem collection that reveled in androgyny. But the standout for me was Simone Rocha, who took many of her signatures—pearls and rosettes, crinolines and crystals—and recast them in a moodier light, inspired by the chiaroscuro of a Caravaggio painting housed in the National Gallery of Ireland. As a perennial London highlight, it would be easy for Rocha to rest on her laurels, but this collection saw her break new ground through a series of off-kilter everyday pieces: a disheveled lacy slip dress, a wonky argyle knit sweater, an off-the-shoulder blazer. By stripping back some of the decorative bells and whistles, Rocha’s darkly romantic vision felt more potent than ever.—Liam Hess
