Jil Sander

Jil Sander is a German fashion designer known for understated and sleek designs, luxurious fabrics and her perfume line.

It is also the name of the fashion house she founded, Jil Sander AG. Her minimalist trademarks include striking silhouettes, high-end fabrics, and meticulous detail, emphasizing quality over flash. Her work descends from that of Coco Chanel, as opposed to the bleeding-edge esthetic of Lagerfeld and Gaultier or the trendiness of sportswear design, as exemplified by the like of Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein.

History

Jil Sander, born Heidemarie Jiline Sander in Wesselburen near Hamburg, Germany, on 27 November 1943, grew up with her mother near Hamburg and later studied textile design in Krefeld from where she graduated as a textile engineer in 1963. Having spent two years as an exchange student at University College in Los Angeles, she worked as a fashion editor at German women's magazine Petra before opening her first boutique in a Hamburg suburb in 1967. She started out selling fashion designed by Thierry Mugler or Sonia Rykiel and also a few of her own designs. And, with few ups and downs, she founded her eponymous fashion house, Jil Sander GmbH in 1968, at the age of 24.

The Jil Sander Look

Her trademark look, a somewhat New Look for women conquering executive positions in the 1980s, was that of a perfectly cut pantsuit, a form-fitting simple but elegant coat or a slim blouse made of the most luxurious materials in plain grey, black, blue or white leaving out any unnecessary details, extravagant ornaments or loud colors. The fact that her creations were coordinates which could all be easily combined with each other became a popular characteristic. She created the so-called onion look (Zwiebel-Look) layering various pieces of clothing in one outfit. The prices for her clothes have always been horrendous. She has been described as the Queen of Less, Cashmere-Queen, Master of Minimalism, Cool Blonde, Gentle-Jil or Fashion Reductionist.

Showing her collection in Paris in 1975 proved a complete failure, though. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the fashion world was dominated by lavish, garishly colorful and glitzy Dynasty-style designs by the likes of Claude Montana and his broad-shouldered leather look, Jil Sander’s minimalist, sophisticated and strict collections with a focus on fabric quality came close to a revolution in the fashion world and were not accepted next to the, from today’s point of view, vulgar stylishness on the Parisian catwalks. With her luxurious simplicity and understatement Ms. Sander was way ahead of her time.

Success and Expansion

In the years after 1978, she revolutionized the industry by marketing her first perfume with a campaign that prominently featured her own face. The internationally successful cooperation with Lancaster Cosmetics allowed her financially to run ads in glamorous magazines on a large scale for her fashion. Later, licenses would be given for eyewear and leather accessory lines. In 1985, it was decided that her collections would be shown in Milan to more efficiently tackle the international markets. Initially much to the regret of the German media, the decision was the right thing to do. Sales were steadily increasing, new fragrances wered added to the cosmetics line, and the label's luxurious minimalism proved to be the hit of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Ms. Sander decided in 1989 to go public with her company. Her fashion house was among the first to venture on such a step. She used the new capital to expand in Asia and North America. Her tremendous success overseas resulted in marvellous flagship stores in Tokyo and New York, among many others, whose interior furnishings gobbled up millions. Ms. Sander personally overlooked the design of her stores and strict guidelines were implemented for the sales staff on how to behave and where to stand in the boutique. At the Paris store, opened in 1993, the Jil Sander collections could be shown on more than 9000 sqf. and four floors.

New Ownership

From the mid-1990s on, however, things changed and later continued to go downhill. The economic crisis in Asia, a newly launched men’s collection that had been postponed several times before in 1997 and supposedly a desire with Ms. Sander to concentrate more on the creative design rather than the business, resulted in decreasing sales. Less and less people were willing or able to pay the label’s notoriously high prices: a simple white cotton T-shirt would sell for $150, and even enthusiastic Sander fans were beginning to long for some variety.

In 1999 Prada Group bought a 75% share in her company. Ms. Sander needed a financially strong partner, remained creative designer and became chairwoman in the new joint venture. Six months later, in January 2000, Ms. Sander unexpectedly left after confrontations with Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli, a quick-tempered Italian businessman. She, an uncompromising perfectionist, had baulked at using less luxurious materials and at bringing the traditionally slim fits in line with standard sizes, he had demanded drastic cost cuts and a more affordable mainstream approach. Bertelli insisted on giving-up the contributary workshops in Germany in favor of the shops in Italy owned by Prada. Thus, for the first time in many years, Ms. Sander was able to indulge in extensive travelling, sailing, going to the opera and taking care of her gardens after her resignation but the fashion house, not surprisingly, faltered without the designer who defined it.

Milan Vukmirovic, a former Colette and Gucci designer, had been installed as Ms. Sander’s successor by Bertelli. He unsuccessfully tried to follow in her footsteps. Pressured by Prada to cater to a wider audience, Vukmirovic came up with commercially viable sportswear collections in 2002 and 2003 that drove away longstanding Jil Sander patrons and failed to attract new customers. The company had been in the red since 2002. It was said that with rapidly sinking sales the Prada Group had to go to great expenses just to keep the house of Jil Sander going.

Comeback and Abandonment

To everyone’s surprise Ms. Sander, whose heart was probably bleeding when she looked at what Prada had made of her fashion house, returned to the company she had founded more than 30 years before as head designer and partner in May 2003, after her noncompete clause had expired. Supposedly, Bertelli had begged her to come back. Her sensational comeback was celebrated unanimously and with much fanfare by the international press. Her designs, bearing the unmistakable Jil Sander signature with a more feminine look, were loved by customers and critics alike. She re-invented herself. She designed two collections that were both shown in Milan, she altered Vukmirovic’s existing sketches for the men’s collection, she redesigned some of her boutiques and even sat down to go through the books herself. Everyone was certain that with the spirit of the company back in the house things would get well again. But in November 2004, Ms. Sander permanently resigned from her post again after insurmountable differences with Mr. Bertelli.

It is rumored that it had been Bertelli’s turn to financially support the company, after Ms. Sander herself had made heavy investments, so that Jil Sander AG could be sold from the Prada Group, already heavily indebted itself. But apparently the banks refused Bertelli the necessary loans. Subsequently, the glamorous Jil Sander showroom in Hamburg was closed, production was entirely moved to Italy and of more than 300 jobs only about 50 remained. All that is left in Germany is an office for press, distribution and marketing personnel, the staff at the boutiques as well as the Hamburg atelier for the women’s collection. The corporation will be transformed into a holding company with the Italian subsidiaries taking over administrative and business duties. The Prada Group still holds a 98% stake in the company which generated losses of € 10 million after taxes in the first half-year of 2005. The losses in 2004 had been almost € 30 million.

Current Developments

For the time after Ms. Sander’s departure an in-house design team was formed to take care of the collections. The slim fits, so typical of Jil Sander, have meanwhile been adjusted to mainstream sizes.

In May 2005, it was announced that Raf Simons, a Belgian industrial designer who also has his own men’s label and is a professor at Vienna's University of Applied Arts, had become creative director for the women’s and men’s collection. His Spring/Summer 2006 men’s collection for Jil Sander was presented in Milan in late June 2005, the Fall/Winter 2006/07 collection opened Milan Fashion Week in mid-January 2006. In the spirit of Ms. Sander and out of respect for the brand he said of the collection that he “wanted to strip it down so there was nothing that wasn't necessary” (Source: Style). Reactions by the press to the Spring/Summer show have been quite favorable but also reserved. Suzy Menkes, fashion director with the International Herald Tribune and the goddess of fashion criticism, said that some items in the collection “made exceptional pieces” but overall it “was not as strong as” before. (Source: IHT). The Fall/Winter collection, however, received accolades from the critics (Reference: IHT). Simons’ first women’s collection (he has never designed for women before) for the house of Jil Sander will be shown at the February 2006 fashion shows in Milan.

To this day, the house produces only two pricey high-end lines, one for women and one for men. Ms. Sander herself had always been strictly against launching a secondary line or bridge collection.

Rumors that Prada Group plans to sell Jil Sander and that Ms. Sander will buy her company back persist till today.

Tidbits

• Ms. Sander was awarded the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany for her achievements in the fashion industry.

• Ms. Sander was known for both her shy appearances in public and her power mania trying to bring everything under her control behind the scenes. She would rarely give interviews and not talk about her private life, a trait that only cultivated the myth about her person, and at the same time she would buy the rights to pictures about her in order to be able to control her public image and meticulously plan all the steps in her company where she was used to being the boss.

• For her notorious (and sometimes ridiculous) habit of mixing German and English words into gibberish sentences when being interviewed in German in the 1990s she was awarded the title of Sprachpanscher ( Sprache = language, panschen = to adulterate) by the Institute of German Language (Verein Deutsche Sprache) in 1997.

• Ms. Sander currently resides at her estate in Hamburg where she also maintains a city office. She is also said to have bought an apartment in Berlin-Willmersdorf and supposedly spends most of her freetime on her favorite leisure pursuit, gardening. She lives with her longtime companion Dickie Mommsen.

Jil Sander Cosmetics

Fragrances listed by year of launch:

• 1978 Jil Sander Woman
• 1980 Jil Sander Woman Pure (discontinued)
• 1981 Jil Sander Man Pure (discontinued)
• 1981 Jil Sander Bath and Beauty (W)
• 1982 Jil Sander Man
• 1983 Jil Sander Woman 2
• 1984 Jil Sander Color Pure (decorative cosmetics)
• 1985 Jil Sander Woman III
• 1988 Jil Sander Man 2
• 1989 Jil Sander Sun (W)
• 1990 Jil Sander No. 4 (W)
• 1991 Jil Sander Man 3
• 1993 Jil Sander Background (M)
• 1989 Jil Sander Feeling Man
• 1997 Jil (W)
• 1998 Jil Sander Sun Body Fragrance (W)
• 2000 Jil Sander Sensations (W)
• 2002 Jil Sander Sun (M)
• 2003 Jil Sander Woman Pure(new edition)
• 2004 Jil Sander Man Pure (new edition)
• 2004 Jil Sander Sport (W)
• 2004 Jil Sander Sport (M)