Philipp Patrick Hannes Plein (born 16 February 1978) is a German fashion designer, entrepreneur, and the founder of the Philipp Plein International Group, which includes the Philipp Plein, Plein Sport, and Billionaire brands.[2][3][4][5]
He is the founder and CEO of the Plein Group[6] and of Plein Holding[7][8] headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland,[9]
Plein has an estimated net worth of Euro 800 million as of May 2023, according to Forbes magazine.[12]
Plein has been consistently listed as one of the 300 richest individuals in Switzerland in the annual reports published by Bilanz.[13][14][15]
In 1998, Plein registered the trademark Philipp Plein and founded his enterprise specializing in luxury goods.[16]
Philipp Patrick Hannes Plein was born on 16 February 1978 in Munich, Bavaria Germany.[17]
His mother Hanne Plein–Dieth is a housewife,[18] and his father Gunter Plein was a doctor.[19] Gunter Plein had an alcohol addiction and left the family.[19] Hanne Plein-Dieth filed for divorce when Philipp was three years old.[20] After his parents divorced, his mother married another doctor, Klaus Michael-Dieth.[21] His sister Gloria Epstein Plein was born 7 October 1987.[22]
In 1998, Plein graduated from college at boarding school Schule Schloss Salem[23] in Germany and started to study law at the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen Germany.
Plein enrolled in law studies at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg before designing luxury dog beds, but did not complete his degree.[24][25] He then shifted his career focus, eventually founding Philipp Plein International Group in Munich, Germany, in 1998.[2][26]
Plein is listed as one of the 300 richest individuals in Switzerland in 2022 by Bilanz in their annual report.[29]
Plein's first collections were vintage military jackets which he embroidered with Swarovski skulls and sold at the Maison et Objet in Paris.[30]
2008: the "Couture" collection was launched.[31]
2009: the first store was opened in Monte Carlo, and the first commercial showroom was open in Milan.[32]
2010: Plein boutiques opened in Vienna, Moscow, St. Tropez, Cannes, and Kitzbuhel in addition to the opening of a showroom in Düsseldorf.[33]
2011: the Hong Kong showroom was inaugurated.[34]
2012: ten boutiques were opened, in Marbella, Moscow Crocus, Baku, Milan, Dubai, St. Petersburg, Seoul, Macau, Amsterdam, and Berlin.[35] Plein signed an agreement with the football team AS Roma to dress the team players starting with the 2012/13 season and continued to do so for four seasons.[36]
2013: the opening of stores in Porto Cervo,[37] Moscow, Paris,[38] Miami, Casablanca, Courchevel, Kyiv, Hangzhou, Seoul,[39] and New York.[40]
2014: store openings include Hong Kong,[41] Los Angeles, New York, Ibiza, Bodrum, Doha, London, and the first Plein duty free at the Vienna airport.[42]
2019: the 20th anniversary of the Philipp Plein brand, with multiple special fashion shows.[43][44][45]
2020: show was presented at Social Music City in Milan in June 2019, inspired by Mad Max Fury Road.[46]
The Plein Group is a Swiss-based luxury goods company. It owns the brands Philipp Plein, Billionaire, Plein Sport and Plein Golf.[47] The brand Philipp Plein was founded in 1998 in Germany, Plein Sport in 2016.[48] Billionaire was acquired in 2016.[49] Plein Golf was launched in 2021.[50]
Celebrities that have worked with Plein include Mischa Barton, Lindsay Lohan, Snoop Dogg, Rita Ora, Naomi Campbell, Iggy Azalea, Grace Jones, Theophilus London, Fergie, Chris Brown
In 2022, he released a shoe collaboration with Snoop Dogg called Philipp Plein X Snoop Dogg.[56][57]
Plein told Women's Wear Daily about the sneaker collaboration with Snoop Dogg: “There are a lot of brands who collaborate with people just for money. It's nice to have a relationship with people who really like what you’re doing. And the other way around.…That is what it’s all about."[56]
Philipp Plein became the first major fashion brand to accept cryptocurrency as payment in July 2021.[58][59]
Plein made his entrance into the Web3 space in collaboration with Portion, a blockchain auction house, as well as 3D visual artist, Antoni Tudisco.[60]
The Plein Group has purchased a plot of land in the Decentraland metaverse, a 3D virtual reality platform. The Group bought the virtual estate for a price of US$1.4 million.[61] Plein participated in Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week in 2022, showcasing a collection of NFT wearables created in partnership with Antoni Tudisco.[62]
Plein has several homes in his real estate portfolio, including a $13 million dollar townhouse in New York City[63] and a villa in Cannes, France that Plein has called "La Jungle du Roi"[64] which was designed in collaboration with the Milan studio AquiliAlberg.[65] In 2024, Plein opened a namesake hotel in Milan[66] called The Plein Hotel, which has 20 hotel rooms and four restaurants[67] (one restaurant is vegan).[68]
