Jil Sander

Sander studied at Krefeld School of Textiles (class of 1963) and was a foreign exchange student at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1963 to 1964.

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

[1] She 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.

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

[13][14] The new company's first client was Fast Retailing of Japan with its Uniqlo label for whom Sander oversaw the design of womenswear and menswear collections called +J.

[15][16] The first collection for the 2009‍–‍10 autumn–winter season was launched worldwide on 1 October 2009 consisting of "about 40 pieces for men and 100 for women, including coats, jackets, knitwear, T-shirts and accessories" featuring the Minimalist aesthetic and demure colors typical of Jil Sander.

[citation needed][17] The second line of +J designed for spring and summer wear, was launched on 23 December 2009 throughout Asia including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China, and on 7 January 2010 in the London stores.

[18] +J returned to Uniqlo's store shelves and online shop for a Fall/Winter 2014 and Spring/Summer 2015 "best of" collection, featuring selected previously designed pieces by the partnership.