A Profound Connection
Luke and Lucie Meier’s personal styles embody the Jil Sander brand codes: sleek and minimalistic. Each joined the brand with an impressive resume in fashion: Luke was Supreme’s Creative Director for 8 years and co-founded the luxury street style brand OAMC with Carhartt WIP’s former creative director in 2014; Lucie was at Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Christian Dior and worked with fashion giant including Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs and Raf Simons. After Simons left Dior, she stepped up to the role of Creative Director for womenswear and helmed five stunning collections.
It’s Meant To Be
Their relationship started in 2001 when the two Polimoda fashion school students happend to rent the same apartment. Perhaps it was their daily encounters, or perhaps it was an unforgettable trip that brought the two closer, but it was after a road trip that they finally sealed the relationship.
Luke grew up in Vancouver, Canada, while Lucie hails from the Swiss Alps. The two are strikingly different: Luke with his buzzcut and serious demeanour boasts the air of a practicalist, but Lucie with her golden locks is a romanticist at heart. Before fashion, Luke majored in finance at Georgetown University. Soon after, he realised that his ambitions were not to be an economist nor investment banker and transferred to study design at the Fashion Institute of Technology instead. It was there that he had the opportunity to go on exchange in Florence where he met his future wife, Lucie.
At the time, Lucie was studying fashion merchandising at Polimoda and it was Luke’s way of speech that caught her attention. Their conversations seem to flow endlessly. During an interview with Vogue India, Luke shared, “That first conversation between the two of us, whether it’s about film, photography, art or music, forms the blueprint for the collection—we never throw it together two weeks before the show. Our relationship has been based around this sort of dialogue for more than 15 years, since we met while studying [at Polimoda fashion school in Florence]”.
MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 23: A model walks the runway at the Jil Sander fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Justin Shin/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 23: A model walks the runway at the Jil Sander fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on September 23, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Justin Shin/Getty Images)
Going The Extra Mile
As with every brilliant romance, distance wedged between lovers Luke and Lucie. He returned to New York after exchange and Lucie flew to Paris to further her studies. Long distance is never easy, especially if it lasts for years on end, but Luke and Lucie’s bond only grew stronger. Luke connected with Supereme’s founder James Jebbia and led the brand as creative director for 8 years. Lucie’s career was taking off as well as she worked at numerous luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Dior.
Rather than making elaborate plans for their future, they let things take their own course. This sense of spontaneity is ingrained in their personalities, but being carefree doesn’t mean being clueless. They possess an enviable energy, especially when it comes to fashion, and it’s this very energy that weaves their lives together in a mesmerising tapestry. After 7 years of long distance, they finally tied the knot in 2007 but continued to live oceans apart. In the end, it was Luke who moved to Paris.
Despite their contrasting personalities and fashion backgrounds – one in streetstyle, the other in haute couture – Luke believes that their creative concepts align. In 2017, they were appointed co-creative directors of Jil Sander, and have since reconciled personality differences through unimaginably harmonious designs. Even Jil Sander’s CEO Alessandra Bettrai couldn’t help but express, “Lucie and Luke possess an intimate connection and a deep understanding of the brand.”
Translated by Karrie Lam
Editor
Junjie Wang
