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 The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...

outerwear and accessories.

Background

Born in Belgrade,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, Sentaler emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

when she was eight years old. She attended the

Schulich School of Business The Schulich School of Business is the business school of York University located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree and diploma programs in business administration, finance, accounting, busine ...

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in Marketing and Finance in 2006. 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 Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and began a small business creating economic investment reports on the

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

region for a UK newspaper. In 2009, she traveled to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

where she discovered alpaca fabric and launched the Sentaler Canadian luxury outerwear brand. When the time came to choose a career path, Sentaler chose to focus on the business for stability instead of attending a fashion school. After graduating from the

, Sentaler took a position in sales and marketing with a corporate beauty brand. She found the corporate environment too restrictive for her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. This led her to resign and travel to

to explore opportunities in fashion. In 2008, while living in Dubai, she worked on economic investment reports on emerging markets, particularly the MENA region for a UK newspaper. While interviewing various corporate CEO's and Saudi sheiks, Sentaler had the opportunity to interview

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

, who had recently designed luxury villas in

. 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." After discovering

fabric in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

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 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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

Awards & honours

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

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentaler, Bojana Canadian fashion designers Canadian women fashion designers Clothing brands of Canada Luxury brands Businesspeople from Belgrade Businesspeople from Toronto Serbian emigrants to Canada