Jil Sander menswear

 

Jil Sander, the German fashion house, was founded by the designer Jil Sander in Hamburg, 1968. With a pared-down aesthetic and simplified approach to style, Jil Sander provided a much needed antidote to the excesses of 80s fashion, with her Paris shows exemplifying a cool, continental look, earning her the nickname “The Master of Minimalism”.

Sander and her utilitarian approach to fashion and her constant striving towards perfection through combining simplicity, form and function created garments that were unique in their appeal winning her an almost cult-like following for her collections. In 1997 she finally launched a Jil Sander menswear collection that could all be easily coordinated together. If there is a French, Italian and British approach to men’s style, there is also a Germanic one. Jil Sander, like her and her compatriots’ men’s labels ‘Hugo Boss Black’ and ‘Helmut Lang’, insisted on workmanship and quality of materials before fashion for fashion’s sake.

In 1999 the ‘Jil Sander’ brand was bought by the Prada Group and in 2004 the designer left the business with the Belgian designer Raf Simons taking her place, continuing Jil Sander’s vision of menswear style for the 21^st century. Her legacy lives on and with the brand revitalised and refreshed the brand is once again to be found in Europe and Japan’s (where she has always been especially popular) finest boutiques. And of course online at MilanStyle.co.uk.

Jil Sander’s signature classics are her impeccably cut men’s white shirts, jackets, handsome shoes and boots in high quality leather. The recently launched men’s accessories range in understated, simple designs reminds fans what they liked about the original designer’s work and that her fashion house lives on.