Jade Jagger at 53: ‘I don’t do anything with my hair and less is more with make-up’
Jade Jagger has always loved dresses. Indeed, look back through images of her over the years and you’ll see it’s been a decades-long affair. There are endless pictures of her in all manner of slinky silhouettes from beaded kaftans and betasseled party frocks to embroidered minidresses and batik print maxis.
One thing, though, she just “doesn’t get” is fashion’s current obsession with ballgowns. “I think it’s because we are all watching Rivals, it’s fuelling the 80s revival,” she says, sat in her London studio, referring to the racy TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s famous “bonkbuster” novel.
The only daughter of Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger and his first wife, the Nicaraguan beauty and human rights activist Bianca, Jagger has serious style credentials. She trained as an artist and has used her abundant visual flair to harness success in a number of creative fields including interior design, high jewellery, product design and fashion. She was creative director of prestigious jewellery house Gerrard for seven years and continues to create sculptural high jewellery pieces under her own name, crafted by artisans in Jaipur.
Today, she’s fresh back from taking her 10-year-old son, Ray to school (she also has two grown up daughters, Amba and Assisi) and is kitted out in a pale pink sweatshirt and matching joggers. “Usually, it’s Uniqlo long johns followed by Zara tracksuit bottoms. It’s an hour [to school] and I still drive the oldest electric car in the world, the G-Wiz, which isn’t exactly warm in the winter,” she laughs.
I’m still not convinced that the designer does “chuck-on” fashion carelessly: she’s elevated her slouchy outfit with statement accessories including a long chunky gemstone bead necklace, Indian bangles and a selection of big rings, including one of her own designs, shaped like a coyote head in yellow gold with emerald eyes.
With make-up free skin and tousled hair swept to one side, 53-year-old Jagger’s seductive boho style is a signature that shines bright even in off-duty loungewear. “I think if I could wear a fancier tracksuit to go out properly and not be scrutinised, I probably would. It appeals to my arty tomboy side,” she says. “I can’t really wear high heels at all. My mother used to carry flats and switch into them, but my barefoot bandit feet just refuse the height, so I’ve already accepted that much.”
Jagger also has three young grandchildren who keep her on her toes, so it’s no wonder she’s tempted to trade in her party pieces for cosy co-ords these days. But really, she’s only half serious: “I do love the glamour of dressing up. I suppose what I’m saying is that I don’t want it to be at my cost. I’ll tolerate a tighter waistband for a lunch out, but in the evening, I want fluidity, draping that shows off the waist but allows me to breath, eat and laugh,” she says.
What she is doing is decluttering. Working with Naomi Robertson, Buying and Merchandising Director at Monsoon, the designer has created an exclusive edit of vintage clothes for Monsoon’s new Portobello Road boutique, which was launched last year to mark the brand’s 50th anniversary and which specialises in retro clothes including original own label designs and pre-loved gems sourced by OOTO, purveyors of vintage archival fashion whose fans include Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and Rihanna.
For this Jagger-focused event, the shop has transformed into an Aladdin’s cave of embellished and shimmering fabrics counting beautiful one-of-a-kind brocade pieces handmade in India for Jagger’s eponymous fashion label from when she had a nearby boutique on All Saints Road, as well as edgier ready-to-wear from her Jezebel diffusion line.
She has discontinued these labels but has returned to her first love, painting, choosing to display a selection of her artworks at the shop, too. These small-scale canvases incorporate gold leaf and are inspired by “psychedelic plants and animals”, proving that even in her 50s and expressing herself with a paintbrush, she’s the eternal poster girl for decadent boho luxe.
As for her own pre-loved items, they are pure vintage gold: a fun mix of “rock girl” thrift store finds like beaten-up leather jackets and embroidered velvet dresses, along with 70s-inflected party pieces by the likes of Marc Jacobs, Emmanuel Ungaro, YSL, Matthew Williamson and Badgley Mischka. Feathers, sequins, beads, lace, rhinestones and appliqués abound in the bijou boutique, designed by esteemed British stylist and “Queen of Thrift”, Bay Garnett.
“I did think that my daughters would want all these things, but we are all different shapes and sizes. What’s more, they are hardcore country girls, so happily, they have their own style,” says Jagger. “Stockpiling this stuff was becoming silly, but equally I wanted to showcase the clothes as a kind of exhibition, to fully enjoy that moment of renewal, which is why the Monsoon fit is so perfect.”
Despite professing her love of comfortable tracksuit, she does still love to “get fancy” in a frock. “I generally wear silk dresses in block colours, so black but also a lot of white, to make a showcase of my jewellery. Mainly, I like dressing up when I’m in the sunshine because that sexy, beachy, barefoot look works best for me,” she says matter-of-factly. Splitting her time between her East London home and her house on the idyllic island of Formentera, it’s easy to see why she craves the relaxed glamour of her chic place in the sun. No long johns needed there.
Still a hippie at heart, the designer claims she has no patience for prolonged preening routines. “I always say I can have a shower, do my make up and get dressed in 15 minutes but I think realistically, it’s more like half an hour. I don’t do anything with my hair except wash it, dry it and twirl it with my fingers and I think less is more when it comes to make-up, although I have taken to bright lipstick. I think it’s kind of cute, especially with a ‘naked eye’ as the kids call it.”
One dress she is sure never to part with is a vintage Ossie Clarke recently gifted to her by best friend Kate Moss. “She got it for my birthday. It’s really nice and I have to say, it does suit me. It does.”
Perhaps the real secret to her sultry style isn’t knowing what to wear but how to own it in a way that screams confidence. If only she could bottle that for the boutique, we’d all look achingly boho chic in our slouchy school run trackies too.
