Sept. 16, 2025

Jade:
Breaking the Mold

words amel mukhtar Photography Alec Maxwell
Styling julia sarr-jamois

JADE wears cashmere coat, GUCCI. Jersey top, GALVAN. Tights, WOLFORD, worn throughout. Shoes, AMINA MUADDI

From global pop stardom to going it alone, Jade talks race, resilience and reclaiming her narrative. Read excerpts below. For the full article, collect your copy of 72 Magazine.

Wool coat, FENDI. Faux leather shoes, MARC JACOBS

Leather coat, BURBERRY. Leather shoes, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

It’s just over a year since Jade Thirlwall’s solo debut reintroduced the Little Mix star to the world and she’s already appeared front row at Fendi, Burberry and Off-White, become a David LaChappelle pin-up, and won the Brit Award for Best Pop Act — the first British ex-girl band member to claim a Brit Award solo. And she’s the architect of it all. “I’m doing exactly what I want to do… I’m telling my team what I want.”

On the highs and lows of the fame machine

“We spent many years trying to prove that we were credible and weren’t just another ‘X Factor’ act. I feel like I spent over a decade really trying to get a foot in the door in the fashion space. In the early days of Little Mix, we’d be scrambling to be seen to be cool enough.”

Blue jacket, JIL SANDER

On moving past “playing the role“

From the beginning in Little Mix, as a white-passing woman of color, Jade’s hair was straightened for shoots, and in images, “I’d have a different nose or lighter skin… Very quickly, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what is most beautiful then.’” When she plays the prima donna in her videos, she has a big blonde blow-out. “That version represents what I was conditioned to think was the perfect version of a pop star.”

Read more on Jade and her next chapter in Issue 1 of 72 Magazine and watch her play EE72’s 7 Seats, 2 Questions.

Photographer ALEC MAXWELL at Bryant Artists. Stylist JULIA SARR-JAMOIS at Best Rep. Hair Stylist PATRICK WILSON at The Wall Group. Makeup Artist LAUREN REYNOLDS at Bryant Artists. Manicurist SABRINA GAYLE at Arch The Agency. Production BRYANT ARTISTS. DOP EDDIE MELBOURNE. Digi tech AL HABJAN. Lighting Assistant ARCHIE SCOTT. Styling Assistants MAYA GUNAVARDHANA. Hair Assistants CHARLES STANLEY. Special Thanks To BECKY and SOTHEBY’S.