Jackie Maguire: Experiences that created the woman behind the brand

What makes a great fashion designer? Whether its passion, creativity, a love of fashion from an early age or International experience, these are all elements of womenswear designer Jackie Maguire and the journey so far.

Here are the stories that shaped the brand and the woman behind it:

The heirloom sewing machine

Growing up close to the historic woollen mills of Yorkshire, Jackie's love of beautiful fabrics was established from an early age. Her Grandmother was  factory machinist, and Jackie recalls it was watching her working on a hand turned Singer sewing machine which sparked her own interest in making clothes. Teaching herself pattern-cutting, Jackie was making her own clothes at eight years old.

Today that original sewing machine still has a treasured place in Jackie's home.

The hard work begins

An entrepreneur at heart, Jackie sold her designs to independent women's retailers whilst at Art College. With an unconditional offer to study fashion design under her belt, Jackie went on to gain a First Class Honours degree from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle. Relocating to London, Jackie worked in the womenswear team for Marks & Spencer, took a position at the design studio at Maria Grachvogel and produced seasonal trend reports for Jigsaw. 

Maxmara offers a massive break

Jackie's big break came when she was talent spotted and offered the distinguished role as in-house designer for world renowned Italian luxury brand Maxmara at Graduate Fashion Week. Jackie represented the first fashion graduate outside London to be recruited by Maxmara. Relocating to Italy, Jackie immersed herself in the serious business of designing luxury outerwear & knitwear for Maxmara, within months Jackie's collections were being featured on catwalks, in fashion magazines & in luxury stores Worldwide.

London calling

Feeling drawn back to British shores, Jackie's next role was for Nougat London, designing seasonal collections of intricately detailed styles, which were distributed and sold worldwide. Inspired by regular research, fabric buying and manufacture visits to Paris, Italy, New York, Hong Kong & China allowed Jackie to work with diverse cultures and experience global trends.

However with 18 years of impressive experience behind her, there was one last ambition to fulfil - establishing her own brand.

Jackie Maguire is the brand is born

Founded in 2018 Jackie Maguire is a truly British fashion brand. Working with the finest British Tweed produced by UK woollen mills and artisan makers. Offering an inspired collection of aspirational contemporary women's coats & jackets of exceptional design, premium quality and uncompromising craftsmanship. Informed by vintage styling and tailoring, Jackie hand selects the finest fabrics and designs timeless pieces for the modern woman with a desire for something more individual.

Jackie Maguire provides the perfect antidote to the over-saturated high street, where customers are quickly falling out of love with fast fashion and the associated over production and watered-down replicas of itself. Jackie has established a brand with a fresh and sustainable ethos, embracing slow fashion, where clothes are made with more thought and care, in small quantities, using limited edition cloths which have been selected for their superior quality. Jackie mission is to create clothes to be loved, kept and cherished.

In many ways, Jackie has come full circle. Whilst on the other hand, her journey is just beginning.

To find out more about Jackie Maguire head to our story or browse the current Jackie Maguire collection online today.