Heidemarie Jiline "Jil" Sander began her fashion endeavours in 1968 when, while being the editor for the German magazine Petra, she opened a boutique in her hometown, Hamburg. A year later, aged only 24 and working on her mother’s sewing machine, she launched the eponymous label, from the get-go, establishing her signature vision that has remained consistent: purism.

“Initially, it was the unpractical in fashion that brought me to design my own line. I felt that it was much more attractive to cut clothes with respect for the living, three-dimensional body rather than to cover the body with decorative ideas.”

Pioneering a vision of purism amongst the elaborate and decorative fashion scape of the 1970s to 80s, Sander defined 90s minimalism. Despite initial setbacks, including a brute reception at her debut Paris show in 1975, Sander persevered, expanding her brand's reach. By 1979, the launch of the brand's first perfume, Pure, marked a milestone, followed by the company's public listing a decade later, fuelling rapid global expansion. In 1993, Sander celebrated the triumph by opening her flagship store on Avenue Montaigne in Paris.