Meet JJ Martin: The Brilliant Creator and Founder of Lifestyle Brand La DoubleJ

Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.

When I think of the Italian fashion and lifestyle brand La DoubleJ, I instantly begin to imagine bold colors and playful, eye-popping prints. A brand catering to all maximalists, La DoubleJ embodies a life of passion and joy through vintage glamour, Milan’s past and present style, and the unique design point of view of its founder, JJ Martin. The California native has seamlessly woven her creative and spiritual energy into the brand, leading with her strong, passionate intuition. In 2001, Martin relocated to Milan, where she immersed herself in the city’s fashion, interiors, art, design, and architecture and harbored an incredible vintage clothing collection, eventually inspiring the concept on which La DoubleJ was founded—to sell her curation of the best vintage pieces. 

Martin launched La DoubleJ in 2015 as a shoppable magazine selling her covetable vintage collection, which led to a small capsule for MatchesFashion consisting of three dresses in vintage-inspired prints. Within a few short years, Martin has evolved the brand beyond fashion and into a global lifestyle brand featuring home collections, accessories, and co-branded collaborations with synergistic Italian heritage brands like Acqua di Parma. Martin has garnered a fan base of modern global women such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Eva Mendes, and Busy Philipps. Some would even say that Martin’s eye as an unapologetic maximalist has shown the world how to integrate print and colors into their everyday lives. 

But before launching an iconic brand, Martin worked at an ad agency post-college and eventually moved to New York and worked in marketing for Calvin Klein. Then, when she decided to move overseas to Italy, she spent 17 years as a journalist for notable international titles like Harper’s Bazaar, WSJ. Magazine, and Wallpaper, where she fostered a network of creative relationships. Tune in to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Martin manifested each career and how she was able to fuse her past experiences and passions to create an inspiring, mood-boosting brand. Keep scrolling to discover some of our favorites from the brand.