Skip to main content

A fan of vintage jackets, model Georgia May Jagger, 23, has designed a black lambskin leather model as part of a new Mulberry mini-line that also includes scarves and a pouch.Courtesy Mulberry

One of the first times I laid eyes on Georgia May Jagger, I should have suspected there'd be a signature motorcycle jacket in her future. Back in the spring of 2011, the younger daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall delighted the crowds in St. Tropez when she closed the Chanel resort show sitting on the back of a Harley. The poutymouthed, gap-toothed model oozed cool as strains of Let's Spend the Night Together wafted through the air. As a newly anointed British It girl, Jagger was on her way to charming the fashion cognoscenti.

Fast forward four years and Jagger is not only the new face of iconic British label Mulberry, but also launching her own mini collection for the brand inspired by seventies motorcycle chic. The 23-year-old model-cum-designer has dreamed up a black lambskin leather biker jacket that retails for $1,590 and can be customized with your favourite letters or numbers and illustrations of animals associated with the English – the fox, the owl and the bee – by the famed French graphic artist Bruno Michaud (who also does illustrations for helmets and bikes).

Jagger herself is an avid collector of vintage jackets and holds originality in dress in high esteem. The silk linings of her new Mulberry bike jackets come in jewel tones and she has also designed small scarves and a leather pouch on a biker chain to complete the look. I chatted with Jagger on the phone from London recently to find out more about her growing design career, her famous father's closets and the elusive nature of coolness today.

Mulberry is such an authentically British label. What was your first taste of the brand?

I suppose I've always been aware of Mulberry more for their suitcases and satchel-type bags. When Alexa Chung did her school satchel, I had a purple one and that was my first Mulberry bag. It sort of continued on from there, and really I've grown up with them the whole time I've been modelling.

What did your mom, Jerry Hall, a former model herself, teach you about fashion?

My mom has a very positive outlook on fashion and always says not to take it too seriously, to make it about fun and things that you'd actually wear and that you'd actually want to have a good time in.

Did she always encourage your indulgence of it, then? I heard a story about your parents not letting you get into makeup until you were 12.

To be honest, I think all teenage girls get into clothes around the same time. I don't think I needed to be encouraged!

What would you say was the biggest lesson you learned from your mom about personal style?

She's obviously American but she takes on that English eccentric idea. We love all the English designers and always support them. So I suppose her thing is finding designers that you like and continuing to support them. There's something to wearing things just because they're fun and colourful and they make you feel good.

And what did your dad teach you about personal style?

To be honest, it's not a conversation that we have very often. But obviously he's got great personal style. My sister has quite a few of his clothes that he used to wear when he was younger, so that's cool. But me and my dad don't particularly talk about fashion very often.

What you learned through mere osmosis must be pretty amazing, though.

Yeah, he definitely has some serious closets going on, for sure!

I'm curious to know what your parents taught you about celebrity and the perils of being in the public eye. Was there ever a point when you questioned your desire to be front and centre?

I never really aimed to be out there. I grew up in Surrey and had quite a normal childhood. I think people assume that, because my parents are very famous, I grew up in Hollywood, seeing paparazzi all the time. But, actually, my childhood was pretty normal. Even doing modelling, I was just going to school normally and just modelling on the weekends until the last two years. It's kind of more the social-media thing that put me out there a bit more. But I ... don't really get bothered by people or photographers or anything – only when I put myself into that situation. The rest of the time, it's pretty normal. I still don't really think of myself as famous, I suppose.

What is it that you personally love about the fashion world today?

I suppose it's the possibilities, that people now can come from any sort of background and as long as they have drive and creativity they can do amazing, creative things. I think you're seeing more from younger people now because it's easier to start small lines on the Internet. And for me, it's just exciting when I'm modelling that I get to see all the clothes first.

Do you see your collaboration with Mulberry as the first of many?

Yeah. I did a collection with Hudson a few years ago, so that was my first taste of designing for a label. And I've got a shoe line coming out for Minelli, a French brand that I work with as well; that's coming out for autumn/winter. And we're designing spring/summer, so I suppose it is a thing that I'm going into more now because I work all aspects of it. It's nice for me to be a part of everything rather than just showing up at the end to do the shoot when all the hard work's over.

People think of you as the epitome of cool, an It girl who moves through the world in a wonderful way. What in your mind is emblematic of cool? How would you describe what cool really is in 2015?

God, what a serious question! I think it can be defined in a million different ways. I think what you find cool depends on what your perception of cool is. My version of cool and the things I like to wear are totally different than someone else's. I think that's the great thing about it: We're all different and we've all got different ideas. And I think that, whether you're minimalistic or you like something more colourful, fashion caters to all those things.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe