Q&a / How Jackson Wang scored a Cartier campaign with Blackpink’s Jisoo and Paul Mescal: Hong Kong’s Got7 K-pop star is in his own lane with a new solo album and fashion brand Team Wang Design

Mar 8 , 2024

Jackson Wang at the Cartier Trinity Celebration in Paris, in February. Photos: Handout

Jackson Wang doesn’t like labels. Best known as a member of K-pop band Got7, the Hong Kong-born rapper, designer and entrepreneur is now firmly focusing on his solo career. And his record label, Team Wang, and its subsidiary fashion brand, Team Wang Design. All while notching up endorsements from top luxury houses, such as Cartier, for whom he serves as a global ambassador.

The 30-year-old multi-hyphenate hails from a family of athletes – his Shanghai-born mother was a gymnast and Guangzhou-born father a fencer – and he was also part of the Hong Kong national fencing team before switching stages and getting into music.

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A true citizen of the world, Wang spent his early childhood in Hong Kong before moving to China and South Korea. “I don’t feel like I have a home,” says the peripatetic Wang. “Home is wherever my parents are.”

Jackson Wang as a young fencer. Photo: Kevin Kung

Fast-talking, friendly and humble, Wang sat down for an exclusive interview with Style before a party in Paris to launch a campaign marking the centenary of Cartier’s Trinity collection, in which he stars with fellow ambassadors Paul Mescal, Jisoo of Blackpink and Yara Shahidi.

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You come from a family of athletes and were one yourself. How has that affected your upbringing and career?

It’s the mentality because growing up in a family of athletes [instils] discipline, motivation, passion. For athletes the key, I would say, is to keep moving and realising that having some good days doesn’t really mean it’s always going to be good. And bad days don’t really mean bad. You just keep doing it. If you carry on, I guarantee you will surprise yourself in a lot of ways.

When did you realise you wanted to be a performer?

Honestly, when I was a fencer, I thought I was performing. Then I was like, “You know what? Maybe I enjoy performing and entertaining people and this idea of a stage.” So I just took the risk.

Jackson Wang at the 2023 Met Gala in New York. Photo: Reuters

Which artists did you admire back then?

Michael Jackson, Queen Latifah, James Brown …

How has your Asian background shaped who you are?

I just feel like at the end of the day, we’re all humans, and it’s just different territory. And it’s still the earth. And it’s like, [there’s] still the bathroom, there’s the living room, there’s the hallway, there’s still the house. I always believe that popularity or fame, or even the assets that you have, can mean something and can mean nothing. To me, it’s like bubbles. You are where you are now, but you can lose everything tomorrow. So yeah, don’t lose that. Never be satisfied. I’m never satisfied. I feel like people sometimes view me and think, “Oh, you got this and you got that.” But to me, myself, personally, I feel like, I’m nowhere near my dream.

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Looking back at your career, what are you proudest of?

I’m really blessed to be able to do what I love – every single thing. All the stuff that I’m doing – music, fashion, shoots – is something that I love and I enjoy and I feel like it’s such a blessing, I’m so thankful for it. It’s very rare. Not everyone’s working every single day doing the stuff that they love.

Tell us more about your foray into fashion with Team Wang Design.

Whether it’s music or fashion, it’s just a different skill set but the logic is the same; you’re creating. I feel I’m just being me. There are a lot of times we over-define stuff and over-comprehend stuff. But this thing that we’re doing is art. And art is a feeling – it’s not math.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am actually preparing my next album. And it’s been what I wanted to do my entire life: to be honest and true to myself. Because in front of the cameras or even on stage, we always present the so-called perfect side of us. “Oh, because you’re a public figure. Oh, because you’re a celebrity.” I just want to be real, one time, for my album, to share what it is like behind the door. And be real and accepting.

Jackson Wang at the Cartier Trinity Celebration in Paris in February. Photo: Handout

What advice would you give to fans who want to make their dream come true?

I don’t know if I’m in a position to say that, but what I can share is just be you. Whatever you’re doing, there’s so many different choices in life, but be you, one time man, because you never know, tomorrow, you might die. So are you happy? If you’re not happy, there’s something wrong. And then find out why, and do what you love, and take the risk. If not now, then when? It’s so corny, but it is what it is.

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Jackson Wang with, from left, Paul Mescal, Yara Shahidi, Labrinth and Jisoo of Blackpink in the Cartier Trinity centenary campaign. Photo: Handout

What has been like to work with Cartier all these years?

It started with work but it feels like there’s a connection with the maison – it’s the people, that’s what’s most important to me. Even me physically being here in Paris right now, for this event, it feels like … “Oh, it’s like New Year’s, I’m coming back to visit my parents. Or visit my friends.” Because, it’s family – that’s the strongest bond. That means more to me than work.

Fame and celebrity

Son of 2 professional athletes, rapper Jackson Wang followed his parents into sports, competing for Hong Kong’s fencing team before switching to music and finding fame with K-pop boy group Got7
Solo since 2019, the rapper is carving his own way with Team Wang, and notching endorsements from luxury brands – including the Cartier Trinity campaign alongside Jisoo, Mescal and actress Yara Shahidi