Dorothee Schumacher was born in Dusseldorf and grew up in the German countryside. After gaining initial work experience with an Italian knitwear manufacturer and several stays in France, she founded her own label in 1989 with a T-shirt collection. A signature style of an extraordinary sense for colours, natural confidence, elegant friction and feminine sophistication was immediately visible in this first collection. After just three years, Dorothee Schumacher extended her collections by adding knitwear in 1991 and opening her own first showroom in Dusseldorf in 1994, followed by showrooms in Paris and Milan in the following years. In the same year, she successfully expanded to Italy.
 
In 1998, Dorothee Schumacher laid the foundation for her headquarters in the industrial port of Mannheim by transforming a former cardboard factory into a stunning two-story loft. Her collections include ready-to-wear and accessories for women. The mother and cosmopolite today operates 11 independent stores and pop-up stores in locations including Berlin, Hamburg and Dusseldorf as well as in Warsaw, Moscow and Madrid. Her collections are sold in 46 countries through more than 600 doors, including boutiques and department stores, and shipped to 49 countries online. 
 
In 2014, the designer personalised the brand further with a rebranding from SCHUMACHER to DOROTHEE SCHUMACHER. Her son Maximilian Singhoff stepped up to the role as second CEO in 2017. In 2019, the brand celebrates its 30th anniversary, with the U.S. business having become its second strongest market. The heightened presence in the U.S. with a dedicated showroom in New York City from 2020 onwards also marks an important milestone for the brand’s further internationalisation. Today, Dorothee Schumacher’s team has grown to 130 employees from more than 15 nations. Her intuitive understanding of and respect for femininity is visible throughout her collections. Wardrobe thinking and wearability are at the core of her design.

Dorothee Schumacher

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