Born in Belgrade, Sentaler emigrated to Canada from Serbia when she was 8 years old. Her Serbian upbringing helped her appreciate quality over quantity, something she now projects into her clothing line. In 2014, she won the Women in Business Award honor at the International Women Achievers' Awards. Sentaler graduated from Toronto's Schulich School of Business with BBA in Marketing and Finance. Prior to becoming a fashion designer, she worked in Dubai doing marketing. Sentaler is married with two children.
Career
With a show room in Toronto, Bojana Sentaler is a popular outerwear designer in Canada and also internationally recognized. Her alpaca wrap coats are noted for their hoods and ribbed sleeve details. Sentaler previously worked in Peru where she conceived of the idea to use cruelty free alpaca wool in her clothing line. Being responsibly sourced has contributed to the success of the brand. Integral to the local economy, the alpacas are protected by the Peruvian government and only sheared every two years. An encounter with the designer Karl Lagerfeld inspired Sentaler to found her company in 2009. Since then, features have appeared in magazines and newspapers such as Vogue, WWD, Elle, USWeekly, InStyle, Town and Country, WWD, Vanity Fair, The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. Her designs have been worn by Hollywood actresses such as Kim Cattrall and top model Gigi Hadid, as well as Sophie Gregoire, who wore a Sentaler coat at the swearing in of her husband CanadianPrime Minister Justin Trudeau. Sentaler has also benefited from the "Kate Middleton effect", when the British Royal wore her coat during a visit to the Yukon in 2016. Sentaler's new line debuted at London Fashion Week in January 2018 and was inspired by 1970's designs. At the same time, she decided to set up a showroom in London where her outerwear has become popular due the "Meghan Markle effect". In 2017, the Suits actress was seen wearing a Sentaler wrap coat at Christmas service with the British Royal family, dramatically spiking sales of the clothing line. According to Sentaler, "... it's been exciting to see Markle champion Canadian fashion." The actress has been wearing Sentaler coats since 2014 when she lived in Toronto. Sentaler sells through Canadian department stores and, since 2017, through Neiman Marcus in the United States.
