Though Jill existed for only 11 issues- from summer 1983 to october 1985, the small magazine's inflience, and that of its director- 24 year old former law student Elisabeth Djian echoed through the fashion world of the late eighties. Today cited by Marc Jacobs, Hedi Slimane and numerous editors and stylists, Jill at the time broke with the norm in publishing- the magazine was completely independent and devoid of advertising (reputedly telephone calls from potential advertisers were ignored), with Djian running the magazine from her grandmother's apartment on a tiny budget. Many of the shoots and editorials echo what came to be known as 'the new simplicity', though Jill was shot through with a heavy elements of fantasy and orientalism. Djian comissioned hazy shoots by Lindbergh in Egypt and Jean Baptiste Mondino in the twilight hours of the city based on themes from Guido Crepax to the cult 1915 series Les Vampires. New designers are present- Gautier was often a collaborator, Galliano, Martine Sitbon and Alaia appears in the pages and the new wave of Japanese fashion that had hit Paris is also heavily present. Djian also introduced the world to Ellen Von Unwerth, and paris faces such as Pierre and Gilles are regular contributors. Shortly after Jill folded Djian worked for The Face in London and later started Numero magazine.
