Wolfgang Joop Biography

Wolfgang Joop is a German fashion designer. He was born November 18, 1944 in Potsdam is an German fashion designer. He is the founder of the fashion and cosmetics company JOOP!.

Joop's career began in 1970, when he and his then wife Karin participated in fashion competition sponsored by the German magazine Constance and won the three top prizes. Following this success Joop became a fashion editor at the women's magazine Neue Mode. He left this job in 1971 to work independently, among other things as a freelance journalist and designer.

In early 1982 Joop showed his first women's collection, followed by his first men's collection in 1985. Two years later, with the showing of his first perfume collection, he made his name a trademark, with capital letters to symbolize energy along with an exclamation mark. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, eyeglasses and perfume were immediately available under this mark. The "JOOP!" mark became available for licensing, and Joop's company no longer produced any of its own goods for sale.

In 1998 Joop sold 95% of his JOOP! shares to an investor and in 2001 he sold the remaining 5%.

Two years before, in 1999 he established the label Wunderkind Art which had its international debut in September 2004 when Joop introduced his new Wunderkind collection in New York.