Milan fashion week began in late summer heat with the remnants of Hurricane Florence disrupting some flights. With Gucci absent from the September schedule – the Italian brand will show instead at Paris next week – the floor is open for the remaining designers to make a mark.

That was the aim at Jil Sander, according to the husband and wife designers Luke and Lucie Meier, who on Wednesday showed their third collection since taking over the 50-year old-brand.

A model in an oversized jumper dress. The designers said they ‘played with geometry against things that are fluid and delicate’. Photograph: Estrop/Getty Images

Hamburg-founded but now Milan-based, the name conjures up a form of precise, executive minimalism. “Less is more” has always been the subtext for the label, and alongside themes of everyday uniform and sport, the collection stayed true to this form, with a collection that focused on making “real things for today, grounded things, all of which felt important to us”, Luke said backstage.

The location was a former panettone factory, minus a ceiling and on the cusp of gentrification, which the designers had planted buddleia in spring in preparation for the September show. It mirrored the clothes, which also focused on natural fabrics, including cartoonish giant platform sandals made from balsa wood that were, they said, “actually very light”.

Designers Lucie and Luke Meier. Photograph: Estrop/Getty Images

True to the Jil Sander label, which epitomises soft power and soft suits in a country famed for maximalism, the word of the hour was minimalism. The clothes came in two parts. The first focused on no-nonsense, practical shirting, an item of clothing the label is famous for – except here, heavily deconstructed. Some were sleeveless and buttoned up or open-collared with zips; others short and boxy. But all verged on the workwear jackets made famous by the late photographer Bill Cunningham, except in muted colours of almond, ecru, grey and black rather than Cunningham blue. Even employees wore Sander’s trademark white shirts sliced open at the back. Paired with wide-legged trousers it was, the show notes read, a new form of suit.

Deconstructed workwear opened up the masculine-feminine dialogue. Photograph: Estrop/Getty Images

Masculine suiting outweighed dresses and skirts, although when they came, they packed a punch, fitted to the body in sheer fabrics with embroidery, scrawled with sketches by Lucie or with slits up the front. Some came pleated a la Issey Miyake, in keeping with the brand’s often-referenced Japanese influence, and some were worn over slim-fitting trousers.

But a wide silhouette remained the consistent shape. As for the sporting angle, this was subtler, although you could not miss a pair of black cycling shorts worn under one floating skirt. Elsewhere, those models not in platforms wore laced-up boxing boots or ballet pumps. “Both [sports] are rigid sober disciplines but they can also be quite the opposite,” Luke said.

Platform sandals. Minimalism means wearability at Jil Sander. Photograph: WWD/Rex/Shutterstock

Gender is always at the heart of Jil Sander, helped no end by the fact that a man and a woman are at the helm. “There is always going to be a masculine-feminine dialogue, so we played with geometry against things that are fluid and delicate,” Luke said. As former designers at Supreme (him) and Dior (her), the pair are inspired by streetwear and femininity, and this collection played to both their strengths.

Fluid knits in muted tones. Photograph: Estrop/Getty Images

Minimalism often means wearability, so with the added concept of sportswear it all makes made commercial sense. But so do accessories. With leather goods predicted to top £250m in revenue by 2019, it also made sense that almost every model carried a bag. There were four main shapes, including a tiny patent pouch and a giant banana shaped tote, which models carried on its side. Though giant bags are likely to replace micro bags from the past few seasons, at this show there was something for everyone.

A beige tote turned on its side. Sales of leather accessories are expected to soar. Photograph: WWD/Rex/Shutterstock

Jil Sander has had a raft of designers at its helm, including Sander herself, who has come and gone more times than anyone can remember. When the company was sold to the Prada group in 1999 and later acquired by a large Japanese fashion corporation, Jil Sander left twice but returned as chief designer – most recently from 2012-13. During her absence, Raf Simons, gave the label cult status with his sexy designs. Jil Sander, then 70, retired shortly after for “private and personal reasons”.