Sander exited in 2000, leaving the industry stunned.
In the years since, shedesigned a unisex line for Uniqlo, +J.
A look insideJil Sander, the book.
Felicitas Boch photographed for the AW 1987 campaign.
What is your earliest fashion memory?
From very early on, when I could barely talk, I dressed and consulted my family on clothing.
The earliest discussions, I remember, revolve around what to wear to special occasions.
A look insideJil Sander, the book.
To me, it wasnt so much a backward glance, but a new challenge.
I wanted to design a book that gave me pleasure.
It corroborated that my fashion vision had basically stayed the same over the years.
An image of Jil Sander’s first perfume opens the book.
In the book, I wanted to circumvent a biographical chronology.
The input of art director Irma Boom was essential for this approach.
We used Irmas experimental, often cropped and zoomed-in optics and constellations as a springboard for our annotations.
The book design juxtaposes different images next to each other, pushing viewers to find their own narrative connection between the two.
It turned out to be a refreshing way of pinning down resurfacing themes of my work.
The text part is rather poetic, going with the flow.
An image of Jil Sanders first perfume opens the book.
In one spread, a staircase from her Hamburg showroom is placed next to a look from the fall 2004 collection.
It is an ad for my first perfume Woman Purevisually stunning, serene, and full of energy.
The square container rhymes with the square shape of our book.
In my design, I often went for geometrical simplicity.
While in another, a backstage image from the Fall 1988 show where Sander covers her face with her hand is placed next to Amber Valletta in a similar pose in a photo from the spring 1994 ad campaign.
Or would you consider yourself to be a more big-picture, world-at-large person?
I like to think big when it comes to campaigns, store architecture, or going public.
My fashion language strives to be consistent, and to deliver a clear message.
Photo: Peter Lindbergh © Peter Lindbergh Foundation / Courtesy of Jil Sander
At the same time, I am extremely scrupulous and orderly about details.
I get easily bored by jaded things and look for alternatives.
At heart, I am an optimist, I believe in the energy of change.
Jil Sander, published by Prestel, will be available in stores on November 26.
The book wants to reflect both the importance of microscopic work and the larger picture.
Its rhythm alternates between iconic shapes and a focus on single aspects of tailoring and craft.
One of the lines in the book says Jil Sander went to the school of nature.
Nature taught me subtleness, but also dynamic construction.
Clothes, in my view, should be as stable and, yet, resilient as a tree.
Nature rarely steps forward; you must discover it.
The more you look, the more you see and enjoy.
We cant outpace Nature; it will always overwhelm and stun us.
What is your favorite place in nature?My English garden, which I started 40 years ago.
What did you learn about your own work when you looked at the finished book?
Has it changed or influenced your creative process since then?
Especially as a fashion designer, you forget what you have done.
Every collection needs a blank space to get started.
Recently, I applied it to different areas of design.
Theres a short text in the book that says:Jil Sanders composure in stressful situations is legendary.
Her pursuit of quality persists until the second-best solution has been refined into the ultimate best.
It is this not yet that gives her designs the magic.
Can you tell me more about not yet?
For as long as I dont have it, I am restless.
All the while I know that my endeavors are nothing until it feels right.
I am convinced that the solution, the twist, the step forward can be found.
Thats my driving force.
I cannot give up.
Over the years, my team has learned to share my confidence.
What is the secret of imbuing minimalism with sensuality?
I dont think of my work as minimalistic.
Reductive fitting needs substance to work on and refine.
Thats why I prefer to call the desired resultpurity.
If you circumvent the fancy, the repetitive, the fillings, you end up with pure energy.
And energy is very sensual, it creates what we deem beautiful.
Concepts of beauty change, they are a function of things that lead us forward.
Whatever is surprising and new, hits us like a flirt.
Jil Sander, published by Prestel, will be available in stores on November 26.
