Jil Sander

Born: 1943

Designer

Jil Sander was born Heidemarie Jiline Sander in Wesselburen near Hamburg. After receiving a degree in textile engineering in 1963 and having spent two years at University College in Los Angeles, she began her career as an editor for fashion magazines.

In 1968, at the age of 24, she opened her first boutique in Hamburg. Sander made her debut as a designer with her own women’s collection in 1973. She received glowing international reviews for her purist creations and embarked on a stellar career. Jil Sander AG went public in 1989 with Sander using the capital to expand in Asia and North America. In 1999, Jil Sander sold most of the company shares to the Prada Group. Sander remained creative designer but resigned in 2000. After a sensational show in 2003 when she re-joined the company, she left the company for good in 2004.

Sander is known for her minimalist style, a new look for women in the 1980s. The Japanese fashion magazine High Fashion counts her among the 12 best fashion designers in the world. Vanity Fair has dubbed her the “Queen of Less” for her unornamented and simple style.

She herself describes her collections as “fashion for the woman who dresses avant-garde casual, yet does not want to feel [as though she were] wearing a costume.” Sander also developed the “onion look”, layering various pieces of clothing in one outfit.

Her work helped German fashion design to reach new, international recognition, and she was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the German equivalent of the Order of Merit, by the Federal Republic of Germany for her achievements in the fashion industry.

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