Background
Mrs. Sander was born in Wesselburen, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on November 27, 1943.
Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
University of California, Los Angeles.
1983
Jil Sander.
1991
Jil Sander by Peter Lindbergh.
Fashion designers Donatella Versace, Vivienne Westwood and Jil Sander.
2009
Tokyo, Japan
Designer Jil Sander (L) and Tadashi Yanai (R), Chairman and CEO, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. pose for photographs during a press conference at Four Seasons Hotel Chinzanso on March 17.
2013
Milan, Italy
Designer Jil Sander acknowledges the applause of the audience as she walks the runway at the Jil Sander fashion show as part of Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Fall-Winter 2013-14 on February 23.
1983
Jil Sander.
1991
Jil Sander by Peter Lindbergh.
2009
Tokyo, Japan
Designer Jil Sander (L) and Tadashi Yanai (R), Chairman and CEO, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. pose for photographs during a press conference at Four Seasons Hotel Chinzanso on March 17.
2013
Milan, Italy
Designer Jil Sander acknowledges the applause of the audience as she walks the runway at the Jil Sander fashion show as part of Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Fall-Winter 2013-14 on February 23.
Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
University of California, Los Angeles.
Fashion designers Donatella Versace, Vivienne Westwood and Jil Sander.
Jil Sander by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.
Mrs. Sander was born in Wesselburen, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on November 27, 1943.
Ms. Sander studied textile design at Krefeld School of Textiles (class of 1963) in Germany, before spending a year as an exchange student at the University of Los Angeles, California during 1963-1964.
After her stint in UCLA, she became a journalist for McCalls magazine in the US, and German women's magazines before turning to freelance clothing design. At age 21, she came back to Hamburg to join her younger and older siblings after their father died unexpectedly at 52.
In 1968, Jil Sander opened her own boutique in Hamburg, Germany. In 1973, at the age of 24, she founded her eponymous fashion house. Mrs. Sander overcame a poorly received first Jil Sander Paris collection shown at the Plaza Athénée in 1975 and listed her company on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at the end of the 1980s. Early on she became known for designing refined, stylish workwear that was expertly tailored and typically made in luxurious fabrics. Her collections, with their neutral colour palette and focus on simplicity and wearability, stood in stark contrast to the brightly hued, highly embellished looks that would follow in the 1980s. Emphasis was on structure and shape rather than on ornamentation and decoration.
Mrs. Sander increased the company’s scope beyond clothing in 1979, launching a line of cosmetics and fragrances. In 1989 she took the company public while retaining all the voting shares and thus creative control.
In 1989, her company went on the Stock exchange as a public limited company. She subsequently flourished through the 1980s and 1990s, and soon achieved an international following, thanks to retailers like Linda Dresner, who for a time had a Mrs. Sander boutique on New York's Park Avenue, and Joan Burstein of Browns in London. In 1995 the Jil Sander group reported $114 million in sales. In 1999 Prada Group bought a 75% share in her company. Six months later, she left after confrontations with Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli. The house, not surprisingly, faltered without the designer who defined it.
Prada had to inject a considerable amount of cash in early 2003 to keep Jil Sander going, amid rumours of mounting losses. There was some talk of her meeting with executives of Hugo Boss who might buy her company from Prada. At the end of May 2003, Mrs. Sander came back as a designer for the house she had founded, with full control. She was also made a member of Prada board of directors. There was a lot of speculation about selling the house and Mrs. Sander returning to the house she founded. The whole situation was rather humorous and ironic because Patrizio Bertelli was the one to say that the Jil Sander brand can survive even without the designer herself and it was Prada’s CEO who approached Jil Sander to negotiate terms to convince her to re-connect with the label. She signed a six year contract, received the company’s stake and was given a seat on the strategic board of Prada.
In November 2004 it was announced that Mrs. Sander is again leaving her company because of differences with Prada. This time it appears to be permanent. In May 2005 the house announced that Raf Simons would be the new creative director from July 1, 2005 for women and menswear collections.
On March 17, 2009 Jil Sander announced the creation of her own fashion consultancy. The new company's first client was Fast Retailing of Japan with its Uniqlo label for whom Mrs. Sander is overseeing the design of womenswear and menswear collections called +J. The first collection for the 2009-2010 autumn/winter season was launched worldwide on October 1, 2009 consisting of "about 40 pieces for men and 100 for women, including coats, jackets, knitwear, T-shirts and accessories" featuring the minimalist aesthetic and demure colors typical of Jil Sander.
The second line of +J designed for spring and summer wear, was launched on December 23, 2009 throughout Asia including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China and on January 7, 2010 in the London stores. It is to be launched in Uniqlo's sole US store in New York city on January 14, 2010. This collection will see more retail drops during the spring and summer seasons. After a successful run of 3 years, Jil Sander and Uniqlo's parent company, Fast Retailing, announced that the partnership agreement would not be renewed at the end of 2011, thus marking the end of +J. The last collection from the collaborative label was for the fall/winter 2011 season. The split between the parties was said to be mutual.
In February 2012 Mrs. Sander returned to her brand, only days after then creative director, Raf Simons, was released from his position. However, left it once again in 2013. After Jil Sander left her company, she visited several countries including Near East, Africa, Iran and Russia. She always wanted to explore these places but due to work didn’t get a vacation. Mrs. Sander began dedicating time to gardening and reading books. During this time, she kept a close eye on the art world and continued with her career, figuring which job offer to accept.
The minimalism that Jil Sander had espoused from the beginning began to be embraced by other designers and by the public at large; she is often recognized as being among the major designers who helped influence the minimalist style that defined the fashion of the 1990s.
Mrs. Sander received several awards for her works. She was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz by the Federal Republic of Germany for her achievements in the fashion industry. In 2013, she was included in the list of best dressed people over the age of fifty, by Guardian. Moreover, she has been named the Queen of Less by the fashion industry.
The designer believes in living a simple life, following her dreams and always remembering that life can take an abrupt turn any second. Apart from this, she hopes to continue to remain creative even if she turns very old. Speaking about her preferences in clothes, in an interview with Elle (United Kingdom), she listed the three fashion items without which she cannot survive. They were: dark colored jeans, white stylish yet simple shirt and a customized navy coat.
Quotations:
"I think there is always a need for pure design. With pure design, you don't need so much decoration."
"I try as much as possible to give you a great basic product and what comes out, I feel, is really amazing."
"It may sound ambitious, but I really hope that modern design will spread all around the globe."
"Life is full of challenges and surprises."
"We look our best in subdued colors, sophisticated cuts, and a general air of sleek understatement."
"One glass of water doesn't equal another. One may just appease the thirst, the other you may enjoy thoroughly. In Japan, people know about this difference."
"Initially, it was the unpractical in fashion that brought me to design my own line. I felt that it was much more attractive to cut clothes with respect for the living, three-dimensional body rather than to cover the body with decorative ideas."
"The market is like a language, and you have to be able to understand what they're saying."
"The apparent pointlessness of fashion may be just what makes it so strong as a zeitgeist sensor. Even I, a designer, do not know why a certain proportion feels dated or why another one feels exciting at a given moment. I leave that to the cultural historians and theorists."
