17 Facts About Jil Sander

Heidemarie Jiline Sander was born in Wesselburen on 27 November 1943.

Jil Sander overcame a poorly received first Jil Sander Paris collection shown at the Plaza Athenee in 1975 and listed her company on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at the end of the 1980s.

Jil Sander 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 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.

Jil Sander remained creative designer and became chairwoman in the new joint venture.

Six months later, in January 2000, Jil Sander unexpectedly resigned abruptly as chairwoman and shortly thereafter as chief designer after confrontations with Prada's CEO, Patrizio Bertelli.

For 2001, the Jil Sander Group reported a net loss of $9.4 million, its first ever.

Jil Sander returned to the company as head designer and partner in a surprise decision in May 2003, after her noncompete clause had expired.

Jil Sander was rehired under a six-year consulting contract and received an undisclosed stake in the company and a seat on Prada's strategic committee.

In November 2004, Jil Sander terminated cooperation with Prada for good and resigned from her post again after insurmountable differences with Mr Bertelli.

The white stucco building in Hamburg that was once the Jil Sander showroom was re-proportioned by the New York architect Michael Gabellini.

Jil Sander returned to her brand in February 2012, only days after the then creative director, Raf Simons, was released from his position.

On 17 March 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 Jil Sander oversaw the design of womenswear and menswear collections called +J.

In 2021 the control of the Jil Sander brand passed to the Italian fashion holding OTB Group.

Jil Sander was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz by the Federal Republic of Germany for her achievements in the fashion industry.

Jil Sander was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50s by The Guardian in March 2013.