«Breaking News» My lightbulb moment: Designer Jade Holland Cooper

Jade, 31, set up her clothing brand Holland Cooper in 2008. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband.

After school, I couldn’t decide whether to study fashion or agriculture — two very different degrees. But having grown up on a farm in Suffolk, in the end I went to the Royal Agriculture College in Cirencester.

I am so pleased I did, because if I hadn’t I might never have created Holland Cooper.

It was while at university, when I was going to all sorts of country shows, that I realised there was a gap in the market for stylish, beautifully made country clothing. We were all wearing the same thing.

Jade Holland Cooper (pictured), 31, set up her clothing brand Holland Cooper in 2008 after she noticed a gap in the market for stylish country clothes. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband

That was my light-bulb moment. I left university in my second year and, at 21, created my own label. I designed a range of tweed clothing from my mother’s old studio (she had her own fashion label) and started selling my collection at horse shows around the country.

It was tough. I was doing around 30 shows a year, travelling with a trailer on the back of my car. In the early stages, I pushed myself too hard.

Once, I drove from a show in Scotland to Norfolk overnight, then realised I wasn’t in any fit state to run the stand. I felt broken. It was a valuable lesson.

But doing the shows was a brilliant way to meet the customers and understand what they wanted. It also kept me developing new ideas, because I didn’t want to show people the same designs.

I still get a real buzz from selling. Early on, my father said that there are lots of people in fashion and lots of people in business — if you can do both, you’re on to a winner. He was right. I love setting targets and watching the business grow.

Last year we opened a franchise in Bicester Village, and we have a flagship store in Edinburgh.

I’m proud that Holland Cooper is now the leading UK buyer of British tweed: it is wonderfully versatile to work with. You think of it as a scratchy check, but there are cashmere or merino blends. It really can be lightweight and beautiful.

Of course, there were times when I felt lonely. When I started out, all my friends were at university getting drunk. Yes, I missed parties — but now I can host them.

My only regret is that I didn’t start it even younger. 

Link article

https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/17/my-lightbulb-moment-designer-jade-holland-cooper/
Main photo article Jade, 31, set up her clothing brand Holland Cooper in 2008. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband.
After school, I couldn’t decide whether to study fashion or agriculture — two very different degrees. But having grown up on a farm in Suffolk, in the end I went to the Royal Agriculture Col...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

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