Jil Sander AG · Hamburg Germany

Although Jil Sander is no longer with Jil Sander, the company has retained her name despite several owership changes. Formerly owned by Italy's Prada, and private equity firm Change Capital Partners, the minimalist fashion house was sold in 2008 to GIBO, the European subsidiary of Japanese apparel group Onward Holdings. (In what had become an on-again, off-again relationship, Sander herself returned to head her namesake company's creative direction in 2003 after having been ousted during the Prada buyout, only to depart a second time in 2004.) Designer Raf Simons was named creative director after her second departure. The company operates more than a dozen stores, in addition to 50 franchised stores. To read the full description, subscribe now.