Lucie and Luke Meier to mentor students of Polimoda's undergraduate fashion course
Lucie and Luke Meier, the designer couple who studied at Polimoda in Florence and led Jil Sander from 2017 to 2025, have decided to return to the Florentine school. Twenty-five years after meeting in Florence, the two creative directors will mentor students of the undergraduate course in Fashion Design as they develop their graduate collections.
“Being back in Florence, at Polimoda, has a special meaning for us. Today's world is dynamic, complex and constantly changing; creativity is essential to help us all move forward. We hope to inspire and guide the creative talents with whom we will have the privilege of working,” commented Lucie and Luke Meier in a statement.
The Meiers' mentorship comes at a strategic time for Polimoda, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary and has appointed a new president, Niccolò Ricci, CEO of Stefano Ricci spa.
The Meiers will work alongside director Massimiliano Giornetti, An Vandevorst, advisor to the Design department, and the faculty. This team of fashion professionals will guide students in developing their final collections. The process will cover everything from concept ideation and material research to defining creative identity and technical execution. The journey will conclude in June, when a selection of the best collections will be presented at the Polimoda Graduate show 2026.
“This very week, the Meiers are meeting the 59 students from 30 different nationalities for the first time. This marks the beginning of a journey where they will guide the young emerging talents through the various stages of the creative process. It is a circle that closes and, at the same time, reopens, celebrating their professional journey alongside Polimoda's 40th anniversary,” explained Polimoda's management in the statement.
In 2001, Luke Meier, from Canada, and Lucie Meier, from Switzerland, met at Polimoda. He was attending the Menswear tailoring exchange programme with the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) of New York at the Florentine school; she was studying Fashion marketing at Polimoda.
After building notable individual careers, Luke in luxury menswear and streetwear, and Lucie in haute couture at Dior, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, the two reunited professionally as creative directors of Jil Sander, a role they held from 2017 to 2025. During those years, they redefined the brand's aesthetic through an approach based on design integrity and artisanal precision, rejecting the 'throwaway' model in favour of garments designed to last.
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