Feeling spiritually or metaphysically blocked? J.J. Martin might be able to steer you in the right direction. The Milan-based designer has spent her time on Earth searching high and low for a greater purpose amongst the chaos, so on the publication of her first book, MOTHER spoke with her about the tactics and practices that have allowed her to build the life of her dreams. Through avid spiritual research and a dedication to soul searching, Martin has been able to manifest an internal and external environment that emphasizes beauty and love over all else. The designer has combined a unique mix of global religions, spiritual rituals, and divine wisdom to grow her passion into a colorful and truly inspired fashion line, in addition to a dreamy, one-of-a-kind storefront. In this interview, Martin candidly expresses her journey toward self-actualization and some of the roadblocks she’s encountered. Through Martin’s experience, we hope you can be inspired to ignite your inner fire and find the cosmic connection to the universe you’ve been yearning for. Prepare to raise your vibration.

Your flagship store in Milan is designed like a wonderland. How does its design reflect your spirituality and personal energy? 

  • Firstly, my personal energy is kind of a unique imprint and definitely not like that of most people, so the store is definitely unlike most others, particularly in the luxury fashion sphere. Let’s say that was one of the main intentions, to do something that felt unique and one-of-a-kind and something you wouldn’t see anywhere else. It’s divided into two levels: the ground floor, which houses all our shoppable ready-to-wear and homeware, has quite a masculine energy so, even though it’s still really fun and colorful, it’s more about business, logic, and getting stuff done. Downstairs is the feminine energy with the goddess cave – the bridge between these two worlds is the mural at the back of the ground floor that features the tree of life with masculine and feminine energy on each side. Then you follow this muraled tunnel down to the full goddess cave. The store was conceived during COVID, at a time when I was doing a lot of Divine Mother research for myself. I read this book called the “The Kuan Yin Transmission” by Alana Fairchild and it was super motivating and inspiring on so many levels. The spiritual and energy meditative practices with the Divine Mother that I was practicing at the time then became the briefing to our artist who is just a totally random Romanian artist who I found on Instagram who nobody introduced me to, so the whole thing just swirled up! The store is such a mixture of so many different people, collaborators, friends, and artists. I feel like it really represents our brand itself because the entire company has always been a mash-pot of so many different voices and imprints and fingerprints and soul prints and heart prints (which I dive into in my “Mamma Milano” book coming out in October) so, of course, the store is like that too.

Your work is exceptionally colorful. Have you always been attracted to bright vibrant hues?

  • Yes, ever since I was a very young age when I could pick out my own clothes they have been crazy… bonkers… even car crash. I have always been attracted to patterns, prints, swirling colors, and embellishments of any kind. I was a total magpie, my eyeballs went to anyone and anything that was sparkling, which did not work out so well when I went to Corpus Christi in first grade and I had to wear a plaid uniform with navy blue, black, and white.

What mantra do you live by?

  • Forgive yourself.

Where and when do you most often find your spiritual inspiration?

  • I find star and sun gazing really very helpful. It’s really incredible the energy that comes from it. Also, just being deeply immersed in nature. If you put me next to a tree I can really sink into Gaia’s energy. It’s all about getting into that other state of consciousness, into an altered state, so if you are empathic in any way you’re going to be able to open your energy body to the frequency coming off of these really potent power sources found in nature. The stars are super-powered, the sun and Earth, too, and the fewer distractions that you have around you the better. I just spent this past weekend drinking wine and even that can be a big distraction, like a cocoon mattress over my extra-sensory skills. (I still had a couple of special spiritual moments this weekend but not as much as I probably would have had. You could call it a wine-cloud.)

Does your spirituality stem from any specific cultures or religion or do you create your own practices and beliefs, or perhaps a combination?

  • My spiritual practice is a total swirling brew that I created for myself but it’s based on many wisdom traditions. I would say the first wisdom tradition I was introduced to was yoga, and then I studied The Vedas, Hinduism, and Buddhism. I grew up Catholic but it really didn’t play a role in my true spiritual journey. None of it was a concurrent progression, it all happened simultaneously. My first energy healer was the one who opened up the doors to a whole other realm to understanding frequency. I have practiced everything from plain old consciousness and meditative mindfulness to weird, multi-dimensional, galactic spiritual practices. I’ve also explored plant medicine pretty deeply, which culminated in my trip to Brazil last year where I lived with a local tribe for a week. And now, I’m really enjoying diving deep into The Ancient Egyptian Mystery School. So there have been a lot of different influences but they all feed off of one another and they are all directed towards the same place. It’s galactic and cosmic, it’s ancient Egypt, it’s earthy shamanic, it’s Eastern wisdom traditions all wrapped up into one.

What is your favorite cuss word?

  • I use “F bombs” all the time. That and smoking cigarettes need to be flushed out of my system. I use cuss words for emphasis. I don’t like to swear in Italian, although I do love the expression “che cavolo” meaning “what the cabbage” but it’s not really a cuss word.

Why did you decide to move from the fast-paced city of New York to the slow and easygoing environment of Italy?

  • It’s a total cliché. I met and fell in love with an Italian man and I left my entire life and moved here without a job because nobody in Milan in 2001 had ever heard of the word marketing which was my role at Calvin Klein in New York at the time. That’s why I had to start from scratch. “Mamma Milano” is all about this journey.

Which Italian designers have been your biggest inspiration?

  • For sure, Emilio Pucci, in the 60s… I just loved him… and Valentino in the '60s and '70s. These were designers who really understood print and glamor and ease. It’s funny, Armani and Versace were the most famous Italian contradictions but neither one of them represent my aesthetic – the sex-bomb or super minimal woman. My spirit and joie-de-vivre is more captured by Pucci and Valentino. I liked Walter Albini as well and I really loved Roberta di Camerino for all the graphic and illustrative quality of her prints. Ugo Correani, too, is a really exceptional costume jeweler working behind the scenes for Gianni Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, and Yves Saint Laurent. I started La DoubleJ by selling a giant collection of his vintage jewelry so he was very inspirational for getting us off the ground.

Who dead or alive would you love to see wearing one of your designs?

  • Kali, the goddess of creation and destruction. She is pure fire! How incredible would it be to clothe fire in prints!?! I love that idea. Sometimes, when I go into one of my meditative states I actually do see the goddesses wearing patterns and prints. I think the patterns that are most resonant for me are always quite symmetrical and I think that has a lot to do with sacred geometry and how the balance of these prints reflects harmony, so it’s all connected, in the end.

What do you hope your legacy, spiritual or otherwise, will be on Earth?

  • We’re planting the seeds to use La DoubleJ as a platform to reach more women and to share the consciousness and spiritual tools and techniques that have been so helpful to me. I love the idea that this company is getting more and more visibility and that more people who come first for the dresses are starting to stay for a deeper message. My dream is to have a retreat center in Sicily that is dedicated to this and to create a La DoubleJ legacy that celebrates “light workers.” I think that any one of us who is awakened and is trying to bring more consciousness to our lives is already a light worker. Bring in more light!

How do you want people to feel when they are wearing your clothes?

  • Our mission is to “Wrap the world in Joy” and our motto is “Raise your Vibration.” We are not joking about this, it’s not just a cute slogan. We actually believe our clothes do this – we have firsthand accounts of women telling us that it does, that they feel ebullient, bouncy, brighter and more open. Their clothes are transmitting something and the people around them are also responding back with a smile. There is an exchange. These are clothes to connect to yourself and to others, clothes to feel good in. Nothing is forced, complicated, or too cool. Raise your vibration is all about getting to that higher frequency, and one of the quickest ways to achieve that is through the print and color we use in each of our designs. These are prints we fell in love with and we hope our customers do too. From what they tell us, it’s working.

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