Fashion designer Wolfgang Joop turns 75

Wolfgang Joop, along with Karl Lagerfeld and Jil Sander, are some of Germany's most successful fashion designers. Joop — who turns 75 this week — has become an international name thanks to his luxurious, original women's styles. However, his creative abilities extend far beyond the world of fashion.

Wolfgang Joop was born on November 18, 1944. He grew up on a farm in Potsdam, near Berlin, but moved as a child with his family to Brunswick, in western Germany. There, he studied advertising psychology and art education, but eventually dropped out of school and worked as an art restorer.

Despite early success in a fashion competition in 1970, Joop worked as a fashion journalist until his breakthrough in the 80s, when he produced a women's and men's collection called "JOOP!" Famous models like Claudia Schiffer (pictured) have worked for the label. Over time, the line expanded to include jewelry, perfume and interior design objects.

Having transformed "JOOP!" into a prestigious and profitable label, the designer sold 95 percent of his shares in the company to the Wünsche corporate group for about 150 million German marks ($85.2 million at the time) in 1998. He continued to work as chief designer for the next three years before moving on. Today, "JOOP!" remains an important name in the German fashion world.

Joop returned to the world of high fashion in 2003 when he established a new label, Wunderkind, with his partner Edwin Lemberg. In 2004, the women's collection was presented at the New York Fashion Week and is still regularly seen on international catwalks.

The success of Wunderkind, which has featured top names like Sudanese model Alek Wek, hasn't always come easily. After a promising start, the company announced in 2011 that it was in a financial crisis. Shortly thereafter, Joop became the sole shareholder of the company. After closing several boutiques, the label celebrated a successful comeback in Paris in 2012.

Joop, who was appointed Honorary Professor for Design at the Berlin University of the Arts in 1987, has many other artistic interests. His drawings have been exhibited in various galleries and museums around Germany and 100 of his works are part of the collection at the Museum of Arts and Crafts of Hamburg.

Joop has written for German magazines "Der Spiegel" and "Stern" and for the newspaper "Die Welt." He made his debut as an author in 2003 with the novel "Im Wolfspelz" (In Wolf's Fur), a critical look into the fashion world. In 2013, his autobiography, "Undressed — Aus einem Leben mit mir" (Undressed — From A Life with Myself), which he worked on with journalist Rebecca Casati, was released.

In addition to designing glamorous and high-priced women's fashion for his current label, Wolfgang Joop has worked in other areas of the clothing industry. In 2009, he designed support stockings for a healthcare company. In 2010, he became a creative consultant for a major German department store and creator of one of the store's mid-price collections for men and women.

Joop worked as an actor in 2000, playing in the satirical film "Suck my Dick" by Oskar Roehler. In 2014, he became a jury member in the TV show "Germany's Next Top Model" and worked alongside model Heidi Klum and creative director Thomas Hayo (pictured).

Wolfgang Joop is still busy at the age of 75. This year, he published his memiors in German, "Die einzig mögliche Zeit" (The Only Time Possible), and went on a tour to promote it. In spring 2019, he became the new creative director of luxury fashion company van Laack and presented shirts and T-shirts along with his printed drawings at Berlin Fashion Week.

Despite moving to the countryside, Joop is still a party animal at heart and seems to love his moments in the spotlight. He's often photographed alongside his husband, Edwin Lemberg. But he doesn't have plans to organize a celebration for his 75th birthday. In fact, he sees the end of his career drawing near. As he recently told German paper "taz": "I will definitely clear out soon."