Bojana Sentaler is a Canadian fashion designer, Founder, President and Creative Director of Sentaler since 2009. She is known for her line of luxury alpaca outerwear and accessories.[1]

Bojana Sentaler
Bojana Sentaler
Born1984
NationalityCanadian and Serbian
OccupationFashion Designer
Known forLuxury Outerwear
Websitesentaler.com

Background

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Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Sentaler emigrated to Canada when she was eight years old.[2] She attended the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in Marketing and Finance in 2006.[3]

She began her career working for a corporate beauty brand. After a short time, she left her position to pursue being an entrepreneur. In 2008, she traveled to Dubai and began a small business creating economic investment reports on the MENA region for a UK newspaper.[4] In 2009, she traveled to Peru where she discovered alpaca fabric and launched the Sentaler Canadian luxury outerwear brand.[5]

When the time came to choose a career path, Sentaler chose to focus on the business for stability instead of attending a fashion school.[6] After graduating from the Schulich School of Business, Sentaler took a position in sales and marketing with a corporate beauty brand.[7] She found the corporate environment too restrictive for her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. This led her to resign and travel to Dubai to explore opportunities in fashion.[8]

In 2008, while living in Dubai, she worked on economic investment reports on emerging markets, particularly the MENA region for a UK newspaper.[9] While interviewing various corporate CEO's and Saudi sheiks, Sentaler had the opportunity to interview Karl Lagerfeld, who had recently designed luxury villas in Dubai.[10] After the interview, Sentaler expressed her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Lagerfeld remarked, "You either have it or you don't, and if you have it, go for it."[11] After discovering alpaca fabric in Peru and spending time studying its unique properties, Sentaler decided to launch a luxury outerwear brand. She designed her first seven "dream coats" and founded the SENTALER brand in 2009 in Toronto.[8]

In 2015, her brand gained national attention when Sophie Grégoire Trudeau wore a white Sentaler coat to her husband's swearing-in ceremony.[12] Her coats have also been worn by Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.[13][14] In 2021, she launched Sentaler Men, a menswear line.[15]

Awards & honours

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  • Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) 2022 "The Outerwear Brand of The Year" Winner: Sentaler.[16]
  • Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) 2019 "The Outerwear Brand of The Year" Nominee: Sentaler.[17]
  • Women in Business Award: International Women Achievers' Awards March 2014.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Williams, Ingrie. "Meet the Toronto Designer Behind Meghan Markle's Fave Winter Coat". Reader's Digest Best Health. Best Health Mag.
  2. ^ "Britanska princeza voli srpske kreatore: Kejt Midlton u kaputu Bojane Sentaler Nikolić".
  3. ^ MacAdam, Lindsay (2018). "Fresh Coat". The York University Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  4. ^ "sentaler-on-10-years-of-sartorial-style-and-why-meghan-markle-adores-the-brand-so-much/#14d908723717".[dead link]
  5. ^ "Sentaler". 15 August 2017.
  6. ^ Davis, Erin. "Canadian Designer Bojana Sentaler Goes Global After Meghan And Kate Made Her Coats Famous". Notable Life. Notable Life. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  7. ^ Dion-Marquis, Sarah. "Profile: Bojana Sentaler". Fajo. FAJO Magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b Kelly, Deirde. "The Sophie Grégoire Trudeau coat: a Canadian fashion success story". The Globe And Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  9. ^ Leigh, Tiffany. "Sentaler On 10 Years Of Sartorial Style And Why Meghan Markle Adores The Brand So Much". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  10. ^ Bains, Pahull. "Looking Back at 10 Years of Sentaler Milestones, Including the "Meghan Coat"". FASHION Magazine. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  11. ^ Liu, Leona. "A-listers Meghan Markle and Gigi Hadid add to allure of Sentaler's winter coats". Style. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  12. ^ Kelly, Deirdre. "The Sophie Grégoire Trudeau coat: a Canadian fashion success story". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  13. ^ Jessen, Monique (2018-02-22). "Meghan Markle's Favorite Outerwear Designer Reveals the Secret to the 'Perfect London Coat'". People. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  14. ^ "Kate Middleton wears Toronto designer's coat and now it's sold out". CBC. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  15. ^ Burchfield, Rachel (2021-02-25). "What's Next for Sentaler, the Coat Brand Loved by Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and More". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  16. ^ "2022 Winners | CAFA". Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  17. ^ Ngao, Erica. "Here are all the 2019 CAFA Nominees". Elle Canada. Elle Canada. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  18. ^ "International Women Achievers Award". Retrieved 8 March 2014.
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sentaler.ca