Meet JJ Martin: The Founder of La DoubleJ
Get to know the American-born, Milan-based, journalist-turned-designer who is bringing joy and ease to fashion
I’ve been covering fashion a long time.
I’m lucky enough to know many, many talented designers from all over the world.
Somehow, I never met the fabulous JJ Martin…
JJ Martin at her La DoubleJ store in Milan
Until now.
JJ is the brains behind La DoubleJ (Get it? Double “J”).
The wild, colorful brand she started 6 years ago with one dress.
La DoubleJ now encompasses a whole world – ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, jewelry, accessories, and a very popular home line.
The journalist-turned-designer hails from California, but don’t let the American accent fool you – she lives, breathes, loves Italy.
“I’M SO IN LOVE WITH ITALY”
ALINA CHO: Let’s talk about Milan.
JJ MARTIN: I moved one month before September 11th.
ALINA CHO: So, 20 years you've been in Milan.
JJ Martin with her brother on the streets of Milan
JJ MARTIN: 20 years. So, I was working at Calvin Klein in New York. I lived in this tiny apartment. I was at a party. I met an Italian guy who was just visiting. We started long-distance dating. I saw him six times and I moved to Italy.
ALINA CHO: That's crazy.
JJ MARTIN: That was crazy. And the same thing guided that decision that guides me on [La] DoubleJ. Whenever anything feels like it sits in my body without making any noise, or creating any sort of disturbing sensations, it's the right choice.
JJ Martin with her beloved pug, Pepper
ALINA CHO: Your early days in Milan were not easy. You didn't like it.
JJ MARTIN: Oh my God. I hated Italy.
ALINA CHO: That’s so crazy for someone who loves it so much now.
JJ MARTIN: I was so negative. Like, "I have the right to good service. I have the right to be able to pay for this and make it happen." You don't have any of those rights in Italy.
ALINA CHO: Things move at a different pace.
JJ MARTIN: This is a different culture. You have to accept you're in a different universe. And I was unaccepting, so it was my own resistance that made me so unhappy.
ALINA CHO: So then, was there a moment that you…
JJ MARTIN: There was a moment. [One day], I went to the bank. I used to have to go to the bank, literally, stand in line for 45 minutes to remove money or to deposit a check. And I was like, "Why am I doing this when I can spend 26 seconds at an ATM?”
ALINA CHO: Right.
JJ MARTIN: So, one day, when I was at the bank, I was in that line and I went up and this stupid, slow bank teller was there, and I was ready to mind-blow him away.
ALINA CHO: Ha.
JJ MARTIN: And he looked at me with the most gentle smile, and he picked up a bag from the ground and plopped it on the counter. And he was like, "Here are green beans from my garden."
ALINA CHO: Oh my gosh. Wow.
JJ MARTIN: "I just want to make you smile today." I was like, "Oh my God. Oh my God." I was like, "This has got to stop."
ALINA CHO: Yeah.
JJ MARTIN: I wasn't accustomed to that culture, to those rhythms, to those traditions. I was alone. I didn't know anyone. They didn't have the yoga that I liked. I couldn't jog outside. They didn't even have the desserts I liked, I couldn't get fed.
ALINA CHO: But when you surrendered, is it safe to say you fell in love? With Italy… and Milan?
JJ MARTIN: I'm so in love with Italy.
JJ Martin in La DoubleJ (with Pepper)
ALINA CHO: Yeah. So am I.
JJ MARTIN: I'm so in love with the Italians.
ALINA CHO: So am I.
JJ MARTIN: To the point now where I enjoy just standing in a line and watching them.
“I NEVER DREAMED I WOULD HAVE A BRAND”
JJ MARTIN: So, I had been collecting vintage since I lived in New York. The Chelsea flea market was just this amazing place. And then, for the first 15 years I was in Italy, that's when I really upped my game in vintage. I was hitting up every fair, I was traveling around the country.
ALINA CHO: I also feel the vintage in Europe is on another level.
JJ MARTIN: Yeah. So, I amassed this collection, and then I found a woman in Milan who was an incredible jewelry historian, who had a huge collection of costume jewelry.
ALINA CHO: Oh wow.
JJ MARTIN: And so, what happened was, my now ex-husband, he was my husband at the time, he had an internet company. He was putting brands online and powering them up. And he was like, "I really think you should sell that vintage online."
ALINA CHO: Makes sense.
JJ MARTIN: I said, “If I'm going to do that, then I want it to be a magazine. And then I want to talk about Italy.” That’s what I always tend to do. I am an expander.
ALINA CHO: Well, you think like an entrepreneur.
JJ MARTIN: I think big.
ALINA CHO: So, at what point did you realize, "Okay, wait, this thing is really catching on. The vintage, my favorite places in Italy. Like, it's [an online] magazine, but I'm also selling stuff. Maybe I'll make some things myself."
JJ MARTIN: Well, what happened was I really started selling the vintage very well.
ALINA CHO: I loved your vintage.
JJ MARTIN: But I wasn't sourcing it easily because I realized it had taken me 20 years to collect it.
ALINA CHO: Sure.
JJ MARTIN: So, again, my ex-husband. My ex-husband plants seeds for me.
ALINA CHO: What did he say to you?
JJ MARTIN: He said, "I think you should make new clothes with vintage prints.” We started with one dress.
ALINA CHO: You have so many styles now. I could look on your site at dresses all day long.
JJ MARTIN: I really want to have a dress for every woman…
ALINA CHO: For every occasion.
JJ MARTIN: For every woman, for every occasion, for every body type, for every temperature.
ALINA CHO: You’ve grown into so many categories, and categories that maybe you thought you might be in, but probably not, right?
JJ MARTIN: Never. I never thought we would do footwear, for crying out loud.
ALINA CHO: And the home [line] is a behemoth.
JJ MARTIN: Yeah, that one. That’s a big floor in the house of [La] DoubleJ.
COLLABORATING WITH 1STDIBS
JJ MARTIN: We did a tiny, tiny project with 1stDibs four years ago.
ALINA CHO: Okay.
JJ MARTIN: We literally just took some vintage furniture, covered it with our patterns and sold it. But it was kind-of small. This, right now, what we've done, is like a whole dedicated collection for them.
ALINA CHO: It's kind-of 360, too.
JJ MARTIN: It really is.
ALINA CHO: I love your oven mitts and potholders.
So, tell me how did this happen?
JJ MARTIN: I think we might have reached out to them. I'm a vintage fanatic. I love 1stDibs.
ALINA CHO: Me, too.
JJ MARTIN: But my experience with vintage is different. 1stDibs is very curated.
ALINA CHO: Yeah.
JJ MARTIN: My experience with vintage is I'm the one [who] goes and sifts through [everything]. I’m going into the garbage dump and sifting through the cardboard boxes.
ALINA CHO: You're the curator.
JJ MARTIN: I think it's so great for a customer to go [to 1stDibs] and see everything so beautifully handpicked and selected.
ALINA CHO: Right.
JJ MARTIN: So, when it came time for this, we wanted to give them a mix of [vintage and new]. Okay. Let's give them what they do best, which is vintage items. So, we curated, I can't remember how many pieces, I think seven or eight, maybe even ten pieces of Italian vintage furniture that we then covered with our prints.
ALINA CHO: I saw.
JJ MARTIN: We did a shoot inside my house with all the pieces.
And I was like, why are we selling these?
ALINA CHO: Exactly.
JJ MARTIN: I want these in my house.
ALINA CHO: Well, they kind of looked like they already lived there.
JJ MARTIN: I know. This is the problem with vintage, there's only one of each.
ALINA CHO: Right, right, right.
JJ MARTIN: Now, the good news is, all the tabletop is in series.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT LA DOUBLEJ?
ALINA CHO: Why do you think people are connecting with La DoubleJ so much?
JJ MARTIN: Joy. Ease.
ALINA CHO: Yeah.
JJ MARTIN: Ease and joy.
The word I never use is cool. Because I feel like that's a word that makes people nervous, whereas joy is relaxing.
ALINA CHO: Well, cool is like, “Am I cool enough?”
JJ MARTIN: Cool is like, “I got to put some elbow grease into being cool.” Whereas joy is just like, "Oh my God, I just unzipped my pants.”
ALINA CHO: Exactly.
JJ MARTIN: That's joy. I like cool, but cool can also just feel like a headache and a lot of work.
ALINA CHO: It is, yeah. Pressure.
JJ MARTIN: [La] Double J is no pressure.