The dignified Heidemarie Jiline Sander was born in 1943 in Wesselburen/ Dithmarschen in Northern Germany. After her graduation from a school of textile engineering and two years in the United States, she began working as an editor for fashion magazines in 1963.

Jil Sander opened up her first boutique in Hamburg in 1968. In this boutique she sold her own designs as well as fashion range designed by Thierry Mugler one of the famous designers of those times. Later, at the age of 24 she started her own fashion house by the name of Jil Sander gmbh.

Sander is known for her classic, sleek designs and comfortable fabric. Her perfectly cut pantsuit, a form-fitting simple but stylish coat and a slim blouse made in comfy fabrics symbolized a new form for women conquering executive positions in the 80's. One of the characteristics of her designs are they are without extravagant jewelry and loud colors and the combination of each other made her an admired designer. She invented the so-called Zwiebel Look i.e layering various pices of clothing in one attire.
Queen of Less, Cashmere-Queen, Master of Minimalism, Cool Blonde, Gentle-Jil or Fashion Reductionist were some of the words used to complement her.

Jil sander's show in Paris in 1975 proved to be a failure because in the 70's and 80's the fashion world was ruled by the 'in limelight' deisgner Claude Montana for his exhuberant and glitzy dynasty style designs. Her sophisticated and elegant designs took a radical change in the fashion world and were neglected. However in 1990's her refined and elegant designs started gaining inportance.

From 1978 onwards she expanded her business and started marketing for perfumes, eyewear and leather accessories. In her first perfume campaign Jil Sander featured her own face. She collaborated with Lancaster Cosmetics which financed her to run ads in highly acclaimed fashion magazines. Some of her famous fragrances include Jil Sander Woman, Jil Sander Woman Pure, Jil Sander Man 3, Jil Sander Sun Delight. The collections later got entry in Milan to reach the international markets in 1985. The german media were not approved with her entry in Milan but her decision was right as the sales started increasing overnight. More fragrances and brands were added to her perfume line and cosmetics which proved to be a major sensation in the 90's.

Jil Sander now took a step further by introducing new spacious and splendid stores in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Taipei. She wanted to expand her business in Asia and North America. Sander was a perfectionist in her work. She herself deisnged the interiors of her stores and special instructions were given to the sales staff on how to communicate and guide the customers. By this time Jil Sander's brand became a sensation in asia.Her launch of men's collection that had been delayed many times was a huge hit in 1997. by 2005 there were 14 jil sander flagship stores, 13 freestanding stores, 27 shop-in-shops

Raf Simons owner of the designer men's label (link) became the creative diretor of men's and women's collection. Sander's last collections as the label's designer departed from the spartan formula with strokes of color (sherbet-hued dresses, white jackets painted with blue streaks) and flair (fringed separates, sequined numbers).

Jil Sander's only accessory store is to be opened in moscow by the end of 2007.