Mick Jagger and L'Wren Scott
Photo by Kristen Somody Whalen

Though he's been dating designer L'Wren Scott for just a few years, Mick Jagger is certainly no newbie to the fashion world. As a Rolling Stone, he worked with "loads of stylists, millions of them," he told me at the dinner he threw during New York Fashion Week for his girlfriend. But lately he's become particularly interested in the production side of things. Here's a snippet of our conversation about style -- men's, women's and his great-grandfather's.

WWD: What have you learned from L'Wren's involvement in the industry?
Mick Jagger: If you're doing a fashion line like this, you have to do so much yourself. It's a very big learning curve. You have to deal with all these very difficult people and all those trips you have to make to the manufacturers. It's a very old-fashioned industry; it's almost medieval in the way that the clothing's made in Italy. Some of them they make in piecework at home with a group of women and then they come together and it's all manufactured in a factory. It's very artisan; there's craft. I find it really quite fascinating.

WWD: How has L'Wren affected your own sense of style?
M.J.: Men's fashion is a bit of a joke, isn't it, because it's so similar to what my great-grandfather wore in so many ways. You know what I mean?

WWD: You're telling me your grandfather wore tight pants and eyeliner?
M.J.: Not quite, but he wore trousers and he wore jackets with two buttons, three buttons, one button, and he wore a tie and he wore a shirt, you know what I mean. I was in Italy in a very small hill town, my son [Gabriel Jagger, whose mother is Jerry Hall] and I had tweed jackets made by a tailor. It was exactly what my great-grandfather would have worn when he'd gone out in the hills to hunt rabbits or whatever he did. My son, who's 11, had a jacket like his great-great-grandfather. But he likes that; he loves that old fashioned, sweet style.

WWD: What do you wear now?
M.J.: I've just bought a bunch of things from Lanvin. [Alber Elbaz] is lovely. He's a great designer and a very nice chap.