British jewelry designer Jade Jagger is the daughter of Rolling Stones rock star, Mick Jagger, and former wild-child fashion-model, turned human rights campaigner, Bianca Jagger.
Coming from such a famous and wealthy background, it would perhaps be understandable if Jade had spent her youth dossing around, attending parties and spending dad’s millions.
But Jade Jagger, rather like both of her undeniably hardworking parents, has always had a work ethic and has carved out her own distinctive career revolving initially around fashion and music but increasingly around jewelry design.
Jagger was born in Paris in France, in 1971, and spent much of her youth with her famous parents living in Cheyne Walk, an ultra-fashionable address by the river Thames in London’s Chelsea.
Once Mick and Bianca divorced, however, Jade found herself being raised in Manhattan where her mother’s social set included fashion designers, musicians and artists (notably Andy Warhol.) She has said that her designs and her lifestyle are inevitably influenced by early exposure to the Studio 54 set and to the world of rock music epitomised by her father and the other Rolling Stones.
In her twenties, after schooling in England, Jade developed a keen interest in jewelry and began designing. She landed a job as Creative Director for Garrard, a well-regarded English jewelry company, and subsequently used her experience to set up her own label, Jezebel – her middle name – under which she designed clothes and jewelry and released music.
Jagger has said in the past that she likes to use images of real objects in her jewelry – skulls, wings, palm trees, safety pins – and she has also said that her work was influenced by the punk era and punk style in Britain.
However, when you look at her fashion designs and her jewelry it’s clear that much of the 70s influence comes from her Rolling Stones upbringing and from the rock music era that her father was such a part of. Jade’s jewelry in particular has a ‘hippie chic’ element to it – something she refers to as “the Jagger edge”. She is proud that her jewelry range is made in India, in Jaipur, giving work to a team she has built a relationship with over several years.
As well as designing a fashion range for Harvey Nichols stores in 2010 she designed a jewelry range for British store, Matches, in January 2011. The pieces are made with gold, amethyst, emerald, diamonds, black diamonds, rubies, sapphires and aquamarine. There are chunky cocktail rings in vivid greens and blues as well as delicate bracelets and necklaces. Talking about the new collection recently, Jade said that it was quite “seventies inspired” and that she also took inspiration from religious jewelry – rosary beads and other prayer beads.
Given her parentage and upbringing, it’s not surprising that Jade Jagger would opt for a creative career. It’s more surprising perhaps that she is so industrious. Though she is the only child of Mick Jagger’s marriage to Bianca, Jade has numerous half-siblings. Most of her adult half-brothers and sisters are, equally, involved in the creative arts either as actors or models.
Jade herself has two children by ex-boyfriend, Piers Jackson. They are Assisi Lola Jackson, born in 1992, and Amba Isis Jackson, (1996). Jade currently lives with a DJ, Dan Williams, splitting her time between London and the Mediterranean island, Ibiza. It will be intriguing to see if she passes on her creativity and her work ethic to her daughters. If she does, it will be interesting to see what spin they, in their turn, put on the Jagger style.
For Jade Jagger’s January 2011 jewellery collection, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQosZdRQSI
For Jade Jagger’s fashion collection at Harvey Nichols, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFthfacHTiE&feature=related
Sources:
http://www.jadejagger.co.uk/
http://www.vogue.it/en/vogue-starscelebsmodels/focus-on/2010/06/jade-jagger
