From her to eternity

She's already been hailed a "jewellery prodigy" by W magazine, but to meet the head designer of De Beers Diamond Jewellers, Hollie Bonneville Barden, is to realise just how youthful she is. And the manner in which the 27-year-old Welsh wunderkind landed such a lofty role with one of the largest jewellery houses on the planet is a tale in itself.

"First I was approached by a former tutor of mine from Central Saint Martins," she says of the London university whose alumni include Stella McCartney, Bruce Oldfield and John Galliano among others.

"She had been in touch with De Beers, and knowing the brand's requests and requirements, my tutor recommended me, knowing that I possessed the skills and the spirit that De Beers was looking for."

Bonneville Barden was home in Hay-on-Wye, a small market town in Wales, when she got the call from De Beers. She immediately grabbed her portfolio and flew to London. A couple of meetings later, she had the job.


That journey has led to her De Beers Aria collection, a sparkling catalogue filled with rings, cuffs, pendants and bracelets with a running motif of fluidity and motion.

"The whole creation process for this collection took 18 months, with six months dedicated to design. It required absolute focus on the project and constant communication with the workshop craftsmen to ensure a true realisation of the concept from my sketches to reality."

With swirls and curves and diamond studded flourish, the collection is filled with a sense of movement.

A look at her design portfolio reveals drawings that range from technical interpretations to more creative elaborations that bring the vibrancy of diamonds into focus.

"When we were first creating the De Beers coffee table book, for which the objective was to bring to life the romance and creativity of the brand, it was a chance for me to illustrate the existing collections in a creative way. So I was approached as someone who had the necessary drawing skills, as well as someone whose own aesthetics resonated with those of the brand."

Now as head designer, she creates unique pieces for a worldwide clientele all too familiar with the brand and its rich legacy. But in a saturated market studded with a long roster of brands, is bespoke design the way to go for high-end jewellery?

"Bespoke jewellery is an wonderful opportunity for connoisseurs to create a unique design for themselves, as well as discover the full beauty of a beautiful and rare diamond," she says.

"Often, our clients have a vision of beauty, but may not have the skills to articulate themselves graphically, so this is where I help them fulfil the potential of the design.

"We have clients all over the world, but the Asian clients certainly display discerning taste as diamond connoisseurs, most likely due to the strong history of the appreciation of jewellery and gems in the culture.

"If ever people ask me for advice, I tell them it is important when you select a piece of jewellery that you are first and foremost inspired by the diamond's natural beauty.

"Diamond jewellery is a very personal expression so I encourage people to look at as many diamonds as possible, because this will allow them to better distinguish characteristics of different stones as a miracle of mother nature, and thereafter discover a style that best suits them.

"It is very important to recognise one's own style as a starting point and try on as many different pieces as possible. A beautiful diamond will choose you, just as you choose the diamond, too."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as From her to eternity

Estée Lauder's granddaughter Aerin designs opulent homes and interiors

Aerin Lauder

Estée Lauder's granddaughter designs opulent interiors, but she still lets her children play on the furniture, writes P. Ramakrishnan

(ramakrishnanp at hotmail dot com!)

Aerin Lauder's interior design book Beauty at Home by Aerin Lauder peeks out from the corner of her hotel suite. With pages depicting chic living spaces, the patina of grandeur and old money is displayed in shades of blue and white in a book filled with grand interiors.

For those in Hong Kong living in small apartments, the book is like a staycation for the senses, a journey into large rooms swathed in Montrose linen, where gold-dipped seashells decorate tabletops with an elegance normally found in biopics about Jackie O.

"I haven't been to anyone's private residence yet. But I'd love to sneak a peek at homes here. I like what I've seen of Hong Kong and China, and I've been here several times," says Lauder, 43.
"I'm interested in the sense of tradition and family values, the adherence to heritage, which is a counterpoint to the city that's constantly growing.

"That sense of tradition meshes beautifully with the refined modernity found here. My design philosophy is 'heritage with a twist' and I can see permutations of that all around Hong Kong.

"From a design perspective, I love certain shades of jade and gold. There's an other-worldly elegance to them that fascinates me. The porcelain white with exquisite ink-blue artwork in fine china is a motif that crops up in my homes," she says.

Homes. Plural. The meticulously appointed residences in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Aspen are peppered with exquisite artefacts and all the accoutrements that define good taste.

Large, well-appointed living spaces face on to verdant pastures, with airy halls dotted with mahogany furniture designed by Karl Springer, sideboards by André Arbus with finishing in gold leaf, paintings by Helen Frankenthaler bought from Art Basel in Miami, in addition to chairs handed down from her famed grandmother.

Billionaire Lauder's own brand, which channels this world of erudite sophistication and is available at Lane Crawford, offers attainable luxury. Lauder's curated collection of beauty, fashion accessories and home decor was unveiled among Hong Kong's high society, who came en masse to meet her. The grand dame of beauty, Estée Lauder opened an office in Hong Kong in the 1960s, because she was fascinated with the East. She was also intent on expanding her brand.

It's no surprise that her granddaughter is following in her footsteps.

"Well, beauty is my heritage," she says. "And we have a family style; the importance of family. My home is my passion. I'm always happy to go straight home after work, so comfort and aesthetics are key at home and in the office for me. Wherever you spend most of your time should be your sanctuary."

Grand visuals are the order of the day in the catalogue and her book; rooms where gold-painted Edgewood console tables are flanked with Ming vases, Chatham coffee tables are lacquered to perfection, trimmed in gold and decked with vintage portraits.

"A quick way to transform a cold and clinical room is to add warm lighting," she says. Edgemere and Bedford floor lamps, and Hampton wall lights that vary from minimalist chic to opulent gold, crop up throughout the catalogue.


Then there's the fragrance line, five of them which range from the heady Ikat Jasmine to the genteel Evening Rose.
"The olfactory sense can trigger so many memories. When I walk into my home, it isn't just the visual stimuli that affect me. I'm embraced by the warm aromas of a lived-in residence, of family, food and flowers. An aroma is so important," she says.

Family is a theme that she often returns to. "My father [Ronald Lauder] was once a diplomat, so when we were young, we saw the world, and that has informed my sense of aesthetics."

With sojourns in Europe and vacations around the globe, Lauder picked up knick-knacks and ideas that coloured her global view, bringing the world at large into her own private abode.

"Travel is a huge part of my life, and that of the modern, working woman. We travel to Europe often, especially Belgium and France. I pick up ideas from Palm Beach or the Hamptons as much as I would in Morocco or Japan."

Though it has been a globe-trotting life, the aesthetic is somehow all-American; it's very feminine and it has an effortless ease and elegance that has found fans around the globe. We volley back and forth regarding the good ("plush pillows can instantly warm a room"), the bad ("when I see a short curtain, I literally have to stop myself from going down on my knees to hem it and make it longer with some trim"), and the ugly side of furnishings.


"Well, I don't know about ugly," she says. "One woman's trash might be another's treasure, so I look at things differently. Things aren't wonderful or horrendous, they're just different. I'd hate to see every single home look like every other. Your personal artefacts should dot your home. I've framed the paintings my sons did when they were very young, and I'd value them as much as someone else might a Matisse."

Are the children banned from jumping on expensive objects like the Thompson chaise? "Absolutely not," she says. "Rooms should be livable. Every space in a home should be used. There is no area in the house that is cordoned off from my sons. A truly elegant home is supposed to be lived in, not just looked at in a magazine."


This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as A wealth of Detail

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HK-based designers have eyes on Woolmark prize

Designer Harrison Wong

Three of Hong Kong's hottest young designers - Hei Lau, Harrison Wong and Polly Siu - are out to impress the judges in the regional final of the International Woolmark Prize competition in Tokyo next week.

Wong is the only Hongkonger in the menswear category. "Working with Merino wool is surprisingly easy, as it's a natural fibre," he says.

"It isn't an unfamiliar material to designers in Hong Kong as, even though we may not have sub-zero winters here, we have a large population that travels in winter - they head to ski resorts, travel to Canada or Beijing in winter and so on, so they do buy winter wear."

With a preponderance of outfits in black, it's no surprise that his aesthetic veers towards the dark side. "I used to design womenswear only and then I switched," he says. "Some might say it's limiting to work on menswear, but within these restrictions I found an exciting challenge. There's an elegance to black menswear. There are some colours in my collection but mostly navy and black. It becomes about the design and the cut, the texture, so the focus goes on design, a natural and easy elegance - with an edge."

Competitions are nothing new for Wong, having won both the Hong Kong Young Designer's Contest and the Asian Fashion Grand Prix Contest in Japan. Acquiring a master's degree with distinction from the London College of Fashion before launching his own retail fashion business, Wong broadened his credentials by designing seasonal collections for international runways in New York, Milan, Sydney and Asia. His first menswear retail shop recently opened at Hong Kong's latest design hub, PMQ. "As everyone knows, rent in this city is a killer. To help young talent and emerging designers, we need more PMQs."

In 2009, Polytechnic University graduate Lau took the leap to launch her own label. "Having worked in the business side of fashion I feel I understand the industry a bit better. It is not just about great design and aesthetics - as important as they are. Is it commercial - will this sell, will people want to buy it or own it? These are the questions in designers' minds."

Designer Hei Lau

Since launching, Lau has showcased in Paris every season. "I attend trade shows a lot and find my customers are worldwide. Hong Kong is not the only market for Hong Kong designers."

When asked to describe her collection, she emphasises draping and elegance. "The challenge in Hong Kong is also that there are too many options and too many brands that have flooded the market. How can an independent voice be heard in this brand chorus?"

Also in the mix is Hong Kong-based Australian designer Siu with her brand Nishe, which she launched in 2008.

"Although my brand and company is in Hong Kong, I think the handwriting of my brand is very English, so working with wool is nothing new for me. My customers are not just here, but globally as I retail online at Asos. In Hong Kong, it's available at Ztampz."

Designer Polly Siu

With a glamorous debut in London in 2010, Siu has customers worldwide. Having studied textile design at Central Saint Martins, Siu faces the challenge of working with wool head on.

"I can't reveal what I plan to do, but it won't vary too much from my brand's natural aesthetic; young, sexy and contemporary."

A panel of judges (from fashion, media and business) will be at the July 17 event to decide which two brands will go through to the final for the menswear and womenswear categories. Winners from each region (Asia, Australia, Europe, India and the Middle East, and the US) receive A$50,000 (HK$363,000) towards their next collection, as well as an invitation to take part in the international finals early next year.

A fiercely competitive enterprise, last year's judges included Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, and L'Uomo Vogue Italia; Colette Garnsey, director of Australian Wool Innovation (managing company for The Woolmark Company); Frida Giannini, creative director at Gucci; Tim Blanks, editor-at-large of style.com; British fashion commentator Alexa Chung, and a host of other fashion players.

Last year, Hong Kong-based designers Kain Picken and Fiona Lau (from ffiXXed) impressed - they placed second - with their exquisite work in shades of navy and white. Their clever reworking of woollen accessories won universal acclaim.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Designers hope to impress with their original spins

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Kim Kardashian in Hong Kong

Pic by Ike

Photographer Ike (Check out his site http://www.ikephotography.com/) posted this on FB the other day! From a shoot/interview we did years ago when Kim Kardashian came to Hong Kong, as she was promoting E!

Snapped at the entrance of Four Seasons Hong Kong, before her fame went into another, inexplicable orbit...

She may be famous for being famous and disliked by... too many to list, but I have to say, as anyone who's met her would, she's friendly, charming, painfully polite. And her mother Kris was there - and the mother of all momagers. And she was a force of nature. Whoaaa. 

The feature on Kim Kardashian-now-West here: Bunny Hop.