I grew up walking the streets of Binondo with my mom browsing, then eventually, buying jewelry. After swimming classes at the YMCA, my mom would ask my yaya to watch over my younger brother and sister, while I accompany her to her suki jewelry stores along Nueva, or at the neighboring streets. Mommy would look around, and when she finds something she likes, she’d think of which of us kids would be wearing a piece, or if she wanted the piece to be modified to her liking. I used to even whine when I’m with her, jewelry shopping wasn’t exactly a great pastime for a kid like me. I would pester her, and she would tell me, “Stop whining, all these are for you and your siblings." I only realized years later, that she was investing on these precious baubles for her kids’ futures. As I grew older, I learned to wear jewelry in school, to various events, and eventually found myself volunteering, whenever my mom was going jewelry hunting. I grew to appreciate the beauty and luxury jewelry stands for, and how each piece speaks a story, or creates one anyway.
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing and meeting VERO’s jewelry designer Gladys Young for a private viewing of her latest collection Under the Sea at the Jun Escario boutique in Greenbelt 5. Being a bit of a fan of jewelry, I was ecstatic when Tedrick first contacted me. I mean it’s certainly an honor to meet the artist herself and get to know more about whatever it is that turns out beautiful collections such as Under the Sea.
Under the Sea is a collection that celebrates the treasures of the seascape. Each stone, gem, metal is carefully set and molded into pieces worthy to be worn by a modern day goddess. Inspired by the different creatures of the sea, you’ll see pieces that look like a tangle of coral branches, a puffer fish that never looked so good, sea anemones that never looked so glam, and oyster shells studded in such luxury that you can’t help but sigh in awe. throughout this post, you’ll see the different pieces in the collection, and later, I’ll reveal which one’s my top pick.
When interviewing artists, designers, creative personalities, I usually ask about the design process first. For some reason, that’s what fascinates me the most: the inspiration, the creation itself, the struggles in between, and the fulfilling moment when you realize the fruit of your labor is being commended by everyone around you. More or less, that’s what you’ll get from the remainder of this article, bits and pieces of what makes VERO the brand that it is today.
"My style is more of a girl who’s a go-getter, a stunning statement piece all the time, they’re quirky but still maintain an elegance, and there’s usually a taste of rock and earth in each piece," answered Gladys Young when asked about her design aesthetic.
Like a true artist, she admits to draw inspiration from anything, say if she takes a landscape photo now, it might just turn into a sketch a few hours later, then a delicate piece of jewelry weeks later. She looks at architecture, patterns, furniture from different periods and styles, and turns this inspiration into something so exquisite, you’ll be surprised she got the idea from say, a Persian rug. She appreciates how it can all be elegant and quirky at the same time. A tinge of vintage and eclectic, a splash of modern vibe, a spark of hope, and overdrive, as she puts it. That’s the inspiration.
The funny thing was, when I asked about how she designed the pieces from Under the Sea, she admits that she was never up close and personal with the sea creatures themselves, as she doesn’t really like scuba diving, but looking at the beach and the treasures it hides underneath, she came up with the collection.
When it comes to Vero, you’ll never know what you’re gonna get. She explores on designing pieces that are bold and chunky, sometimes dainty and subdued, as well as classics with a contemporary flair. The fascinating world of design and its twisted forms, the love for the interesting and the intricate, from fabric prints to peacock feathers, to anything as ordinary as corrugated sheets amazes her. She leaps from the norms of jewelry design and explores on the exceptional, rare, exotic, to as extreme as what most would deem inconceivable.
Gladys uses a wide array of materials, different kinds of stones, from different types of pearls, to all the different colored gemstones we know, to diamonds, as well as the precious metals. She doesn’t shy away from mixing metals, she layers them even, as long as they end up beautiful. With the complexity of her work, she finds making simple pieces a challenge. With simple pieces, they can border into plain and boring, and she finds ways to turn that simple piece into something a Vero woman would wear. She would play with colors, and placing, and shapes, to make the simple piece, a stunning one.
Most of her signature pieces can be worn in more ways than one. One of her bestsellers is actually a pair of earrings that you can wear in 9 different ways. Imagine, 9 ways to wear something so pretty, and 9 times more fun at that. It is because of this utility that I got quite fond of the piece in the photo above. It’s my favorite from the collection, and you can use it in different ways, no, not 9, but still in many ways, as earrings, or as a pendant, or you can wear the studs without the dangles, oh the possibilities.
Vero has been in existence in 2003. It has been in Manila for 2 years now, and 10 years in Cebu. Vero, meaning genuine in Italian, has placed a premium on the concept of investment pieces - as treasures that can be passed on as heirlooms, or an iconic style that can last even for the stylish generations to come.
Straight from the designer herself, she speaks about luxury, and why it is a worthy investment, “Luxury has to have 3 things. You have to be able to mix style, luxury and value all together. Style where it’s a statement piece, value, where the materials are genuine, and luxury, because it is fine jewelry, you won’t find these just anywhere. These are treasures, and every piece is made out of passion."
For the VERO virgin, Gladys suggests starting off with not so bold pieces, because not everyone can carry her jewelry. You have to have attitude to wear it. There are people who still want the Vero brand, so she makes them a calmer version of it, so it’s more wearable. The main idea is of being able to play around. It’s playful and classy still. So Gladys always maintain those two, even when she makes simpler versions of my jewelry, using different colors and jewels.
If there’s one thing that I’d learned from Gladys Young, it is that, passion, is what sets it apart. Passion.
(L-R) Tedrick Yau, Gladys Young, Jun Escario
So what does one wear when in the presence of such greatness? well, something simple but classy, I don’t want to outshine Gladys in any way (really now?!). After all, I’m just an interviewer, I’m the one in awe of her achievements.
P.S. Vero x Jun Escario is opening at Marriott Hotel Cebu this August 8, 2013, to all my Cebuano readers, show gladys some love, okay?
To learn more about VERO, you can visit their official website or like them on facebook.
For more information on Vero, contact:
Gladys Young: @gladysyoung_ on twitter and Intagram
as well as Tedrick @thetedylicious on twitter and Instagram