Model, Mum, and So Much More — Meet Jade Rasif, NYLON’s October 2020 Cover Girl

Model, actress, DJ, designer and now mum — these are only a few of the eclectic roles Jade Rasif has held over the years, but there’s so much more to this 26-year-old. Since her stint as the first runner-up of the New Paper New Face modelling competition in 2013, Jade has gone on to become one of the highest paid female DJs in both Singapore and in Asia, and — believe it or not — is currently working full-time in the local healthcare industry (you’d know this if you are one of the 363k followers on her Instagram).

In person, Jade’s petite stature and warm demeanour is unexpected; one would imagine a more imposing figure, but throughout this shoot, she was an absolute joy to work with — candidly relaying personal stories in-between outfit changes and even sharing an endearing video of her extremely adorable two-year-old.

While her unfiltered views on YouTube and on social media render her fairly controversial, her heart is in the right place — on the side of good. This is her story.

PHOTOGRAPhed BY ADELE CHAN USING THE LEICA M10-P + SUMMILUX-M 35MM F/1.4 ASPH LENS.
MAKEUP BY DEWI MAHONEY.
HAIR BY DEN NG.
STYLING BY JOE TAN.
Special thanks to Jeffrey Koh from Cotton Club Cafe for the venue. 
Shot on location at Cotton Club Cafe, 2 Jln Lokam, Kensington Square #01-51, Singapore 537846. Open 5pm-12am. Follow them online on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM. And order their chicken wings.

Above (on Jade):
Brunello Cucinelli Mohair Cardigan, POA
Brunello Cucinelli Cashmere Lightweight Short-Sleeved Polo, POA
Brunello Cucinelli Quilted Metallic Midi A-Line Skirt, POA
Black Velvet Beret (Stylist’s Own)
Swarovski Sparkling Dance Dial Up Rhodium-Plated Brooch, POA
Swarovski Sparkling Dance Dial Up Rhodium-Plated Pierced Earrings, $549

ON HER START

“I guess I first started on New Face. Before that, I’d never done anything in media before. Never modelled, never even took pictures, so that was my first foray. After that, I got signed with a modelling agency, and they really helped me out there, so I feel a lot of gratitude to them.

I got scouted by Mediacorp because of New Face — they were actually looking for New Face alumni to read for a part, and it started with a very small cameo and somehow they kept extending my contract and I ended up being there for three years. And all the while I was doing that, I was also DJ-ing.”

Above (on Jade):
Moschino Wool with Cotton Bouclé Cropped Jacket, POA
Brilliance Shield Prismatic Diamond Eye Shield, $98
Swarovski Angelic Rhodium-Plated Necklace, $379

HOW SHE VENTURED INTO NIGHTLIFE

“Pursuing DJ-ing was never in my plan. Growing up, I always wanted to be a lawyer, because both my parents are lawyers. But when my grades came back, I didn’t do well enough and I didn’t get into NUS. And at that point I felt crushed, because I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life, now that I wasn’t in my dream course. And I just sort of drifted after that. And I think that’s how I drifted into doing DJ-ing, because I wasn’t really sure. Imagine you spent 20 years of your life thinking you’re going to do something, and then it doesn’t end up happening because I missed the grade by ONE mark. And after that, I just drifted I guess. But I’m happy I drifted to the place I went to, but I was really sad and depressed for a long time. I did get into law schools in the UK, but I didn’t want to leave my family, so it was just heartbreaking for me.”

ON STUDYING PSYCHOLOGY

“I guess I was just drifting, and I really had no idea where I was going. I just went into the next NUS course that I thought I could do, and then I just took the first thing that came along. I didn’t like it in the end, I feel like it takes a certain person to do psychology, and you need to be very mentally strong, which I’m not.”

Above (on Jade):
Moschino Flowers Embroidery Crepe Dress, $5,440
Flapper by On Pedder Mini Wool Hat, $265
Coach Black Suede Loafers, POA

WORKING IN HEALTHCARE

“I’m not allowed to [share specifics because] I have an NDA, but I started off volunteering, and now I work full time. And I’ve been promoted, actually. I like the job because I feel like I’m finally good at what I’m doing, and I feel like I’m where I need to be. So that’s a very nice feeling.

It was never the plan, and I think it was 100% sparked by COVID. If not for COVID, I wouldn’t be working, but I got sucked in by all the “propaganda” at one point of time. And then, you know there was this point where all the ads on TV and YouTube were like, ‘Oh, difficult times, stay strong’, so I guess I got sucked into all of that.

There have been a lot of times where patients recognise me, then they talk to me after, or people on the job recognise me and they talk to me, but I just feel like because of the corporate culture of where I work, people treat me with a lot of respect, and that feels really good, because it’s not something that I’m used to. Being respected on the job is not something I’m accustomed to in the world of nightlife, so this is very new to me, and I love it.”

AND DROPPING SPONSORSHIPS

“Contractually speaking, I’m not supposed to be moonlighting. And if I do any moonlighting gigs, I actually have to ask my HR department, so it’s a very different experience for me, having to ask for permission — but I like [working in healthcare]. So in order to avoid the ‘Hey, can I do a shoutout for this company for money?’, I just don’t bother.”

Above (on Jade):
Coach Pieced Shearling Blouson (on sofa), $2,880
Pinko Total Black Denim Jumpsuit, $680
Oliver Peoples Nella Sunglasses, $580
Coach City Blocks Triangle Bag, $950
Sergio Rossi Crystal-Embellished Ballerina Flats, $1,494

WHAT MAY COME AFTER THE PANDEMIC

“I might continue, but I have no plans as of now. The thing about DJ-ing is that I still have gigs lined up for after the pandemic, so that’s a problem. For a lot of people, I feel, in this pandemic, especially for people whose livelihoods are affected, we’re really at crossroads, and it’s forced a lot of people to re-evaluate. I think a lot of people have been making career switches, and I might be one of them. It’s open-ended for now.”

GOING FROM “REAL TALK” TO “JUST SAYING” ON YOUTUBE

“I just wanted to move in a different direction, from Real Talk to Just Saying. My issue with Real Talk was that we were doing too many sponsored posts, and when I joined we didn’t come for the sponsors, we came for the content. With Just Saying, I feel like we can speak our minds more without worrying about keeping it corporate.

We’re really lucky because Gushcloud invested in the [Just Saying] series, because they like the content. So we can afford better production, we have more fun sponsors, which I don’t receive any compensation from, and we can afford to do more format-breaking stuff, so that’s really exciting for me — I basically work just for fun and passion.”

BEING VOCAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

“With Dee Kosh, it was because one of the boys contacted me personally, and asked me for help. So at first I didn’t say anything —  I saw the drama, I was like ‘Ooh okay’. And then one of the boys was sent a cease and desist, so he came to me and he asked me what to do with it. I was like, ‘Oh what do you want me to do?’ So I tried speaking to Dee and I tried to contact lawyers for [the boy], and tried to get him sorted out. Then more and more boys started coming to me, basically asking me for help, so that’s how I got involved in it. And he was the one who actually told me to share what I shared. So that’s why I felt like, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.'”

ON PLASTIC SURGERY

I actually haven’t had surgery for a long time, so I’ve kind of been ‘inactive’. I was planning 35, to get a facelift, and then 60, I might get another facelift, but other than that, there’s nothing I want to do to my face.”

AND ADVICE FOR THOSE CONSIDERING IT

“I think you should just be honest about it, if you decide to do anything. And of course, don’t expect your life to change because you fixed your nose — it’s not gonna change.”

HOW MOTHERHOOD HAS BEEN

“Motherhood has been a joy, I love my son. He’s the best thing ever. He just started going to school, it is adorable. In his uniform… his little school bag… He’s so independent, it amazes me every day.”

Above (on Jade):
Moschino Icing Print Cady Dress, $2,305
Brilliance shield Abide face Shield, $48
Sergio Rossi Sergio Rider Clyde Black Nappa Leather Boots, $2,490

AND BEING A MOTHER IN THE PUBLIC EYE

“I’m very protective over my son. I don’t even want to put his name or his photo out there. I understand why people would post their kids — it brings you joy, makes you happy, you should absolutely post it. It’s just, personally for me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable exposing my son to 300-, 400-thousand people, without his consent. That’s a very big thing for me, obtaining my child’s consent.”

[If he were to go public], I would support that completely, but that’s his choice to make when he’s an adult. He’s not going to be my money-maker. I’ve been offered like $15,000 to be in a skincare ad with my son, and I mean, I was very tempted to take the money, obviously, but I think at the end of the day, I don’t want to be profiting in any way off my kids.

ON HER BIKINI COLLABORATION WITH BUM DIGGITY

“[The owner is] actually my friend, she was from Singapore —  five years ago, she moved to Bali and she started this line. I was contacted by a couple of brands to do collaborations, and I was wondering why everything didn’t seem to be very ethically made. And that was a very big thing for me. But then, when I went to visit her, I realised she had her own factory in Bali; it’s staffed by a team of all women, they make it in Bali, and obviously it’s much more expensive to make, but I realised that if I wanted to produce something, that’s how I want it to be. So that’s why I chose to collaborate with Bum Diggity over other brands.

She designed one of the bikinis, and I designed two of the bikinis. Of course, it was more of a collaboration, because I’m not a good designer — I just know what I like and what I don’t like. I basically live in bikinis; I swim every single day. So I know my bikinis, I know what a good quality bikini is, I know what a flattering bikini is, so I was more in the approve/disapprove end. This collaboration actually took three, four months to be produced, because I was so picky with the designs. I wanted something that would give me, the user, the optical illusion of curves, a small waist, hips — that’s the focus of the collection.”

Above (on Jade):
Coach Pieced Shearling Blouson (on sofa), $2,880
Pinko Total Black Denim Jumpsuit, $680
Oliver Peoples Nella Sunglasses, $580
Coach City Blocks Triangle Bag, $950

WHO IS JADE RASIF?

“It’s so weird, I feel like there’s such an eclectic mix. I don’t think most people know me, but out of my circle of friends, I have friends from university, friends from secondary school, friends from Real Talk, friends from YouTube, friends who work in fashion, influencer friends, so it’s kind of like, I don’t really know where I fit in, but that’s fine. I’ve always enjoyed running in different circles. It’s a good mix — and the important thing to me, is just that everybody is of good vibes, if that makes sense. So if everybody has good vibes, I’m good.”

Follow Jade on Instagram here.