German designer Jil Sander thinks that we’re undergoing a period of “upheaval and renewal”, not unlike the postwar period in which she grew up, having been born in Wesselburen in 1943. “I was part of a broader reawakening – a democratic reconstruction, a clearing-away of anything standing in the way of a better future,” she says. Memories from her childhood, moments of inspiration, career highlights and musings on the importance of ongoing renewal and new beginnings all come together in her latest project, Jil Sander by Jil Sander, a book conceived with Dutch art director Irma Boom and writer Ingeborg Harms.

“When I organised my archives for a museum exhibition in Frankfurt in 2017, I realised how much material we had and that the right time had come,” Sander tells monocle. “The book was a way to share and present this material in a personal way. We wanted to animate it with a lively rhythm and to show the thread that runs through my work. You could call it a vision of modernity.”

Public pronouncements have become rare for Sander, who now leads a quiet life in Hamburg. Shy and softly spoken, she has always favoured privacy, avoiding the spotlight when possible. Even in the 1980s, when designers were known for dramatic runway exits alongside supermodel friends, she opted for quick bows in a pared-back black suit or her signature black turtlenecks. Today she stays true to the same uniform and it’s even more unusual to spot Sander in public. Having sold her eponymous label and exited the business more than a decade ago, she now focuses on interiors and garden design. “I didn’t mean to leave early but one must step aside when the road no longer supports your vision,” she says. Her latest fashion venture, a collaboration with Japanese high-street giant Uniqlo, offered her elegant aesthetic to a wider audience, yet she says there are no plans for an encore. 

Though her understated approach to fashion remains as relevant as ever, her voice – and flair for discretion – is a breath of fresh air at a time when luxury is becoming mainstream, runway shows are broadcast around the world and brands vie for attention on social media. “We are lacking the excitement of the limited view,” says Sander. “The real moment in time, the brevity and intensity of the witness.”

In her new book, she’s encouraging people to slow down, indulge in self-reflection and adopt an alternative point of view when it comes to getting dressed – prioritising individuality, high-quality fabrics and construction details that might only be visible to the wearer. It’s why the book zooms in on the details of so many of her garments: the back of a blazer inspired by traditional Savile Row designs; the Sea Island cotton fabric she used on her signature white shirts; the cobalt-blue screen print paying tribute to artist Agnes Martin; the white-on-white Robert Ryman paintings that she has always admired.

“Irma and I agreed to focus on the details of my work and she created a playful rhythm and striking constellations with an expert’s eye for form and colour,” says Sander, who has always drawn inspiration from graphic designers and artists including Martin and Andy Warhol, and architects such as Michael Gabellini, who worked with her on her first Paris flagship on Avenue Montaigne. “Artists affirmed me in my search for quiet intensity and the endeavour to let the material speak for itself and, to a certain extent, dictate the process,” she says. “We face similar problems and ask the same questions: What is new? How do we stimulate awareness and express the moment we are living in?”

Sander often talks about fashion in this way – more like a philosopher than a typical designer – musing about “striving for perfection” in the clothing she designs; creating garments with “soul”; and overturning convention by introducing utility and comfort to women’s wardrobes.

Seeing Sander’s body of work in the pages of this new title, from the bold typeface of her logo to her signature white shirts and mostly black-and-white colour palettes, it would be easy to categorise her design aesthetic as minimalist or timeless. She rejects such labels. “I don’t identify with the minimalist tag,” she says firmly. “At the start of a collection my mind is wide open – I’m more of a maximalist. I develop and experiment with unusual fabrics, cuts and proportions, I don’t exclude embellishment. Step by step, I reduce designs to a core message, not in the interest of providing less but in the interest of a strong essence.” She might still think that many of the pared-back designs she pioneered, such as the white shirt (which she describes as her own version of a lab coat), are still the cornerstones of every modern wardrobe but she would never credit them as timeless – there’s always room for improvement. “I don’t believe in timeless design, even classics like the shirt or the jacket need contemporary interpretations,” she says. “At a certain point, a suit looks dated, no matter how well it was crafted.”

Nevertheless, the looks featured throughout the book – pleated A-line dresses, perfectly tailored trench coats, slim trousers – have the same contemporary feel as they did in the 1980s and 1990s when they debuted on her Paris runways. “Iconic shapes and proportions are achieved by decisive details such as tailoring, lining and textile qualities, which count a lot in my work – I wanted them to be noticed,” says Sander, who rejected popular notions of excess and constriction from the get-go in favour of clothing that working men and women could easily move in. “I avoid clinging fabrics,” she says. “I prefer to create a dialogue between body and garment, a certain flow and tension. I am fond of fabric research since new textile solutions invite new dynamics.”

A textile obsessive, Sander is also known for making her own fabrics (including a series of performance fabrics manufactured in Germany) and embracing the world of sportswear. She created a pair of trainers with Puma in 1998, long before collaborations between fashion and sports brands were common. Now she enjoys seeing more designers following in her footsteps. “I love this crossover,” she says. “Athletic requirements have brought fashion down to earth. Nowadays, the body has a say in design, it decides the relevance of luxury and high fashion. We no longer accept uncomfortable and we expect design to rise to our needs. That said, clothes should look attractive and please the eye through shape and quiet elegance.”

The book also highlights the designer’s purist approach to typography. The bold, black logo she created for her label stands out amid an array of images of the elegant, geometric bottles of perfume, bath foams and makeup that she began designing in 1979 with the likes of Fabien Baron and Ezra Petronio. “Typography is a core medium in sending a message,” she says. “Deciding on the bold type for our Jil Sander logo had been a major step in building the brand and affirming our identity.”

Sander says that the process of putting together the book reminded her of the high-stakes, fast-paced journey she went on to grow her business globally, from her expansion into beauty products to the runway shows in Paris and the opening of flagship shops, which always stood out for their Bauhaus-inspired interiors. “It reminded me of the madness of conceiving one collection after the other for so many years and of everything that went with it, including the campaigns, the trade-fair excursions and the production supervision,” she says. “Looking back, I wonder where the energy came from, how we managed to keep up the team spirit and the consistent quality. The memories are dear to me but they also tell me that my life was absorbed by work and a mission.”

Sander might have slowed down since then and settled in Hamburg, yet her design ethos remains as relevant as ever. “I like a degree of understatement – a grain of formality and distance in dressing rather than nonchalance, which has always been expected of women,” she says, adding that her ultimate advice would be to focus on comfort and “careful tailoring”, as well as materials and cuts that transcend time. “It might be of interest today to remember that fashion need not be a journey through historical styles.” — L