I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions late last month at the launch of my jewelry collaboration with Jul B. Dizon at The Peninsula Manila. Together, we presented “Skewed,” a collection of rings, necklaces, pins and earrings I designed, all about bending the rules.
The launch was a busy day. I’m grateful for the support and the response of friends and colleagues. It was quite a big day since it was also Thanksgiving, a happy coincidence.
Timeline
Last February, I quickly sketched out my ideas for Candy Dizon, who approached me with the idea of working together. It was a dream come true, as I’ve always dabbled in jewelry design.
In college, I took up industrial design, where I got my know-how in this field. Though I never finished the course—shifting on my last year—who would have thought that combined with my 20-year career as a stylist, it would come in handy in making this collection?
What I wanted to showcase in these pieces was what I learned in the lifestyle industry. Beauty is never boring. If at all, it’s a bit shocking and out of the ordinary. I also wanted to show how jewelry is about playing with the idea of beauty your way. Beauty is also welcoming. It’s about enhancing the person.
Collection notes
I’d like to share with you the collection notes:
“Beauty, if poets and philosophers are to be believed, isn’t found in perfection. It’s defined by the deviations it creates from the streamlined. Beauty is raw, real and unapologetic. This is why beauty should always catch your attention and construct possibilities.
“In times when concepts are overwrought, beauty should excite. There’s a certain irrelevance it brings that wakes us up from the usual. Beauty inspires through the way it challenges the accepted.
“The details in ‘Skewed’ are a bit off-kilter and a little left of center by no accident. Ria Prieto draws from experience as an editor, stylist and creative consultant with these pieces that disrupt the norm. Every earring, pin, ring and necklace is meant to see the brilliance of going outside the lines.
“Using asymmetry, mismatched earrings, and how pearls aren’t where they are supposed to be, the collection is all about how jewelry plays around with beauty. ‘Skewed’ is about mixing it your way and imbibes that sense of whimsy. After all, beauty is a provocation.”
