In this episode I go on a Style DNA journey with the very impressive Jade Holland Cooper Founder and CEO of her eponymous brand, Holland Cooper. Jade had a rural upbringing which was all about her ponies and horses...she didn't really think about clothes other than their functionality.

It wasn't until she went to study at the Royal Agricultural College that she realised that everyone was dressed the same...that there were very few options for chic country clothing. This was her lightbulb moment. She drew up a business plan, left college, created a few tweed miniskirts that she sold from a "2 metre stand at Badminton Horse Trials" and she realised then that she was on to something. She has built an astonishingly successful brand in just 15 years, turning over 40 million pounds, and is in the process of building a 7,000 sq foot head office in Gloucestershire. I can honestly say, her achievements are extraordinary. 

I ask Jade who her biggest inspiration is and she says Ralph Lauren, ironically the king of classic British style . The Lauren influence is clear but in a more obviously branded way. She admits that she wants to get the name on as many items as possible as it is effectively "free advertising". We laugh about how in the early days she bought an embroidery machine so that she could get her name embroidered onto as many pieces as possible, how she would have the machine running 24 hours a day with the assistance of a baby monitor.

She tells me that her mother is her style icon, and was a designer herself, and that although they have different styles she is very inspiring. I ask her whether she thinks about her mother when designing? She says she is aware of her age group but makes the point that classic product appeals to multiple ages ...so true and so appealing to so many. 

I ask her about the pressure of being the face of her eponymous brand (something I remember well), and to a degree an influencer of sorts. She admits it could be a full time job...but as the business gets bigger her "minutes get more important" but that she never want to lose the experience and interaction with her customers. She personally replies to her Instagram messages to get feedback, she is on the shop floor every 2 weeks and admits to obsessing about her business, living and breathing her customers. 

Talking customers, she says that having Catherine as a good customer has been a great endorsement for the brand. 

Despite her incredible success she admits that there are "many days I feel like I can't do this. It's an inner battle to get things over the line. Can I do this? It's really hard and really lonely" (gosh it is). I ask her what she reaches for on those vulnerable days and it's always a suit...the power of good tailoring is always a winner.

She is clearly the style queen of Cheltenham Races...her home turf.  She is her own best ambassador, there more than anywhere else I would say,  and we laugh about how she always decides what she is going to wear at the last minute, much to the frustration of her fabulous team.
I hope you enjoy this episode. Jade is a truly awe inspiring and incredibly focused human being... I wish her continued success and look forward to visiting her in her dreamy new head office later this year. Bravo!

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