Fashion icon Jil Sander turns 80
A unique sense of beauty, a vision of fashion and legendary diligence: with these skills, Hamburg fashion designer Jil Sander made her way onto the catwalks and into the exquisite closets of the world.
Born Heidemarie Jiline Sander in 1943 near Wesselburen (Schleswig-Holstein), the designer revolutionized women's clothing with her purism in the 1980s and 90s. Her minimalist and comfortably cut blazers, shirts and pants of the highest quality, influenced by men's clothing, shaped the style of modern women struggling for independence in Europe and overseas. She also set standards in accessories and cosmetics.
The brand she founded and named after her still exists and continues to inspire today. Although Jil Sander has not owned her since 2000, she continued to work for her for another five years. During her phenomenal rise, the Hamburg native overcame considerable difficulties.
Today (November 27), the discreet success story with residences near Plön, in Hamburg, Berlin, Gstaad (Switzerland) and Ibiza (Spain) celebrates her 80th birthday. Where and how she will do this is not known. She only revealed one thing to the German Press Agency: "I like to forget this birthday and go traveling."
Jil Sander and her brand are still a household name and have had a huge impact on fashion. Jil Sander, the inventor of the "onion look", is the most successful German designer internationally, says Bisrat Negassi, Head of the Fashion and Textile Collection at the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg. "With clear lines and incredibly sophisticated cuts, she created an intellectual fashion that celebrates understatement and is high-end."
"Queen of Less"
The Hanseatic city, where Jil Sander grew up after two years in Heide (Schleswig-Holstein) with her mother and her second husband, became the nucleus of her unique career, which has earned her the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1996) and the Personality Prize of the German Design Award (2018) as well as the honorary title "Queen of Less". In 2017, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt/Main organized the first major solo exhibition of Jil Sander's work.
But first Sander was drawn to the big wide world and the young woman with the casually coiffed blonde curls and a burning interest in clothing since childhood first left her home in northern Germany. "I was already very particular about clothes at the age of six and advised my family on how to dress," Sander told People magazine "Gala". She studied at the State School of Textile Engineering in Krefeld (North Rhine-Westphalia) and at University College Los Angeles (USA). She then worked in New York at the women's magazine "McCalls".
After two years, Jil Sander returned to Hamburg in 1963, where she worked as a fashion editor for the magazines "Constanze" and "Petra". At the age of 24, she sold her VW Beetle to open a black-painted boutique in the up-and-coming Pöseldorf district. As an aspiring businesswoman, however, she failed with her idea of having well-designed fashion made in India and selling it at democratic prices. Jil Sander then fundamentally changed her concept.
Connected to the Bauhaus
In addition to designs by Parisian luxury designers such as Sonia Rykiel, she started offering her own fashion in 1973. "It was probably the 'feminine clothing' that irritated me the most, because men were allowed to wear completely different, more practical things. I was jealous of them," the designer told "Gala". She focused on functional understatement in restrained colors made from specially developed high-tech fabrics, wool, cashmere, silk and linen. "The inner qualities are enhanced when the outside is right," she always said.
Sander saw herself as connected to the Bauhaus. She thus turned against the taste of the time in fashion, which favored colorful and decorative items. "I got to know and appreciate Jil Sander as a particularly passionate designer," said her Hamburg colleague, the "cashmere queen" Iris von Arnim.
Sander was able to master her difficult early years financially thanks to a lucrative perfume license. With the cosmetics manufacturer Beecham, she offered a fragrance and skincare range - and advertised it with her own face, which made her known as a personality. At the time, "Woman Pure" and "Men Pure" were launched simultaneously.
In the fashionably exalted 80s, Sander was already presenting her collections at the internationally important Milan press shows. She also worked as a professor in the fashion class at the University of Applied Arts Vienna from 1983 to 1985 - as Karl Lagerfeld's successor. In 1989, she took her company public and managed it as CEO.
Worldwide success
Jil Sander flagship and franchise stores were opened worldwide, including in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei. In the 90s, she developed a men's line, which soon contributed 20 percent to the group's turnover. After triumphant years, the Hamburg-based company entered into a joint venture with the Italian Prada Group in 1999. At a later date, she sold her majority shareholding to the partner - allegedly for 275 million marks.
In 2003, she once again took over responsibility for design in the company bearing her name, which had been in the red under Prada's management. Once again, Sander achieved success. But in 2004 she parted company with Prada boss Patrizio Bertelli again, only to take over the design of Jil Sander for the last time in 2012.
This time too, Sander received much recognition. Just one year later, the Hamburg native turned her back on the brand named after her, presumably for the last time, according to her own statements for personal reasons. In 2014, her life partner, Angelica "Dicky" Mommsen, died of cancer at the age of 72. Sander had also lived with her on the Ruhleben estate near Plön (Schleswig-Holstein).
The hobbies of the fashion designer, who never wore jewelry, include gardening and collecting contemporary art. Sander also plays golf, loves mountain hiking and driving.
People around the world continue to be inspired by Jil Sander's fashion philosophy, as celebrated designer turns 80 on November 27. As of this milestone birthday, Jill Sander, the Queen of Less, remains a prominent figure in the fashion industry, having revolutionized women's clothing with her minimalist and comfortable designs in the 1980s and 90s.
In recognition of her significant contributions to the world of fashion, Jil Sander has earned various accolades, such as the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1996) and the Personality Prize of the German Design Award (2018). These awards underscore her status as a fashion icon and her unique perspective, known as "The Queen of Less."
Source: www.dpa.com
