Jil Sander

Jil Sander was founded in 1968 in Hamburg by the German designer Heidemarie Jiline Sander, and the house became known for its minimalist, clean designs. The proposition was a wardrobe stripped to its essentials, aimed at a new generation of working women who wanted clothes that worked as hard as they did. Her first collection, with just one of each item, sold out in a week. Recognition came slowly, however.

Sander’s debut at Paris Fashion Week in 1975 was unsuccessful, and the public, accustomed to bright and shocking images, coldly greeted her restrained minimalism. Sander later attracted a defining nickname, the “Queen of Less,” and Vogue once described her output as an “exemplar of nineties minimalism” with its own form of abstract inventiveness.

Menswear arrived in 1997, and within a short period it contributed around 20 percent of group sales. That same year, Sander established Tailor Made, a line of hand-tailored classic suits in fine fabrics produced in limited quantities. The design language was specific. Single and double-breasted wool coats, white cotton shirts, fine-gauge knit polo necks, and slim trousers in a palette of ivory, stone, charcoal, navy, and black. Wool was often sourced from the mills in Biella, Italy, with a preference for superfine merino in the 16 to 18 micron range.

Culturally, the house sat alongside other architects of nineties minimalism, Helmut Lang and Prada among them, and is now grouped with later inheritors of that grammar such as The Row and Lemaire.

The business changed hands repeatedly after the founder’s exit. In 1999, Prada Group bought a 75 percent share in the company, later increasing that stake to 98 percent. Sander resigned, returned, and resigned again, and a series of designers followed. In May 2005, Raf Simons became creative director for the women’s and men’s collections.

When Rodolfo Paglialunga resigned three years into his tenure, Luke and Lucie Meier took up the position as co-directors in April 2017. In March 2021, the Jil Sander brand was acquired by the Italian fashion group OTB, and Simone Bellotti is the creative director. Bellotti has led the Milan-based brand since March 2025, presenting collections for women and men including ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags and accessories.

Today the house dresses architects, editors, and a professional clientele who want tailoring over branding, and it sits at the upper end of the market alongside The Row and Lemaire as a reference point for restrained dressing. Jil Sander is present worldwide through its network of around 70 boutiques and JilSander.com, as well as in selected multi-brand retailers.