Milan, Italy - the Jil Sander Group announced today a strategic licensing alliance with Marchon Eyewear, Inc., to create Jil Sander men's and women's eyewear starting with the 2009 collection. The agreement will give Marchon, one of the world's most prominent eyewear companies, the exclusive global license to design, manufacture and distribute both the sun and ophthalmic collections for the JIL SANDER eyewear line. 

"Jil Sander is a brand that has the aesthetic competence to create a total look, I am looking forward to completing my vision for Jil Sander with an innovative eyewear line", states Raf Simons, Creative Director at Jil Sander.

"This new license is the next strategic step to grow the Jil Sander business. After the successful reorganization of the Jil Sander Group, our focus is on developing new business directions and luxury accessories to enhance the lifestyle world of Jil Sander," said Gian Giacomo Ferraris, CEO of the Jil Sander Group. 

"The Jil Sander brand is very interesting as it is clean and pure yet distinctive and assertive. This design philosophy will make the Jil Sander eyewear collection extremely appealing and enduring to men and women." said Al Berg, President and CEO, of Marchon Eyewear. "We're pleased and excited to have the exclusive Jil Sander collection in our expanding brand portfolio." 

The new collection is being developed in collaboration with Raf Simons, Creative Director of Jil Sander. The design and palette will reflect the sophisticated and luxurious world of the JIL SANDER brand. The sunwear collection will debut at retail in January 2009 and the eyewear collection in April 2009. 

Both collections will be sold worldwide in Jil Sander stores, select department stores and specialty stores. 

About JIL SANDER
Jil Sander is one of the world's most renowned brands in high-end luxury, offering women's and men's ready-to-wear, shoes, bags & accessories and cosmetics. The brand is known for the perfect fusion of contemporary design, pure luxury, innovative materials and exceptional craftsmanship. Jil Sander products are distributed worldwide through its irectly-operated store network and through independent retailers. The JIL SANDER Group is controlled by Change Capital Partners, a London-based private equity firm. 

Marchon Eyewear, Inc.
Marchon Eyewear, Inc. is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of quality eyewear and sunwear. The company markets its products under prestigious brand names including: Calvin Klein, ck, Coach, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Flexon, Karl Lagerfeld, Marchon, Michael Kors, Nautica, Nike and Sean John. Headquartered in New York, with regional headquarters in Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Tokyo, Marchon distributes its products through numerous local sales offices serving customers in a network of 100 countries.