Jade Holland Cooper: Redefining Country Style

Jade Holland Cooper is the designer behind Holland Cooper, the fashion brand conceived right here in the Cotswolds.

Everyone from royals (Princess Catherine; Zara Tindall) to cutting-edge celebs (Ed Westwick, Amanda Holden and Vogue Williams among them) has been spotted sporting distinctive Holland Cooper styles.Think: Elegantly tailored Henley blazer in ink-navy, piped with white; hand-crafted fine-wool pencil skirt of ivory, detailed with gold; riding breeches (practical and pretty); houndstooth ‘Cheltenham’ coat for men; enchanting tailored town coat for little ones (matching mummy’s: every girl’s dream)…

Jade, you say that Holland Cooper combines your love of the countryside with the glamour of the Cotswolds. We love that! Tell us more about the glamour of the Cotswolds.

Before I started the business, the assumption was: you went to the countryside and dressed differently. And I thought, why? Why would we dress differently? The countryside is just as glamorous as the city but in a different way.
Being able to celebrate classic heritage fabrics and put them into very sharp cuts has meant that the Cotswolds is fashion personified.

So give us two Jades, Holland Cooper style-wise. What would you wear for a night out? And what for deadheading the roses in the garden at home?

If we take 131 as an example [the hotel on Cheltenham Promenade, owned by Jade and her husband Julian, co-founder of Superdry], we’ve created YOKU - a beautiful Japanese restaurant, where you can really be super-glam. I’ve worn dresses there that I’ve worn on the red carpet. You can go so chic.
And then in the garden for dead-heading the roses - a totally different ball game. I’m in my wellies and my jeans and in my country coat.
Holland Cooper has been a vehicle for me to create all the products I want for every single aspect of my life, to make me feel good in whatever I’m doing.

You and your husband have two young children – three-year-old Saphaïa, and Jamie, aged one. Do you get inspiration, particularly from Saphaïa?

Children give you a different outlook on life, full stop: they make you a stronger and a better person - in my opinion, anyway. Saphaïa’s too little to take inspiration from in that way. But, of course, all my little tailoring [the children’s range] was inspired by what I wanted to dress her in – and, again, I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t find these beautiful tailored coats, in the tweeds like we’ve got: so out of that was born the little town coat.
I’m taking inspiration all the time and creating products I want that I can’t find. I think that’s really what Holland Cooper is.

Your ethos is timeless and quintessentially British…

We’ve been celebrating and flying the flag of slow fashion since we started – which has now, ironically, become very fashionable! Everyone is talking about it. But I’ve kept that at the heart of who we are from day one. And I was definitely told that wouldn’t be possible; I wouldn’t be able to. But that is possible. And we have been able to.
We buy hundreds of thousands of metres of wool, all made in the UK. We make as many collections as we can within the UK, in different parts – whether it be Yorkshire or Somerset or London or Scotland. It’s a very magical part of the business and a very special part - because it’s how I started.

You’re a farmer’s daughter, who grew up riding horses, grain-carting and collecting chicken eggs! How important is the outdoor life of the Cotswolds for you and the family?

Whenever I can, I’m out in the greenhouse with the children. Again, for me, growing up with that freedom to be outside - the freedom to think and the freedom to be – it’s the gift I want to give my children over and above everything else.
I love to see the children playing in the garden or appreciating nature outside: planting some seeds; picking some flowers; going outside to make a den; feeding the chickens. Simple things.

The Holland Cooper boutique, at Dowdeswell Park, Cheltenham GL52 6UT, features collections for women, men and children.

Check out hollandcooper.com and no131.com to find out more.