Beyond the decorative nature of jewelry, explore the inner spiritual world of women
The author and Shuman met in Milan because of our mutual model friend Jun. Shuman, with her neat short hair, has a cool temperament and is not verbose. She is very frugal with words. Her independent, sharp and sincere thoughts can be felt in her conversation. When we talked about everything at the first meeting, we learned that she had been working in the fashion industry for 6 years and had worked as a design assistant at YSL (Saint Laurent). Later, she worked as a VIP online dressing plan consultant and a buyer of vintage jewelry at 24sèvres, a French luxury e-commerce company. During her time as a buyer, Shuman often went to antique exhibitions and observed many 20th century artifacts and jewelry crafts. In the process of selecting products, Shuman not only learned a lot of appreciation knowledge from antique dealers, especially in terms of materials and craftsmanship.
Shuman said that she has loved jewelry for a long time, but it has never been discovered. As early as the stage of studying fashion design, she created functional decorations for clothing by herself, despite the denial of her instructor's craftsmanship. In the end, a miniature sculpture button in the shape of "planet orbit winding" on the clothing became an indispensable finishing touch for the graduation series. Shuman called this button her jewelry enlightenment.
In her opinion, clothing needs to be carried by people, while jewelry does not. It is three-dimensional. Compared with clothing, jewelry is a more free and artistic medium of expression. When a woman takes off the outer covering of her clothes, she does not have to take off any rings, earrings or necklaces.
After leaving the fashion industry, Shuman went to Buccellati's workshop in Italy as an apprentice and obtained a goldsmith certificate, and founded his own jewelry brand "Silence Record". "Silence Record" can be translated as "silent record". On the one hand, it borrows the concept of "everything is a wave" of physicist De Broglie, and uses the "vibration frequency" of the material wave between natural gemstones and the wearer to produce a "metaphysical" adaptation; on the other hand, it also uses concepts such as "records" and "singles" to echo the frequency of the brand's new product launches. "Silence Record" will not be updated in a regular seasonal manner, but will be more free to "release music" like the creative cycle of independent musicians. The release of an "album" is a jewelry series, and a "single" is a unique product. The cover design of the "Silence Record" box is also presented in the image of a record.
With her keen sense of fashion, she was favored by the industry soon after her transformation. The collaborative series "Don't Force" launched by "Silence Record" 2022 not only appeared at the Milan Fashion Week, but also began to cooperate with Galleria Rossini, one of the four famous jewelry galleries in Milan, and was included in reports by many well-known fashion media in Europe, such as "ELLE", "BAZAAR" and "MARIE CLAIRE", and her starting point is quite high.
Tina Chow and Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, two 20th century female jewelry designers who have had a profound influence on Shuman. At the same time, there are also many women among the customers of "Silence Record". Therefore, the jewelry of "Silence Record" also pays attention to the situation of contemporary women, and hopes to help them inspire a sense of self-exploration and gain the power of identity.
Shuman hopes that women can gain inner spiritual healing power when wearing her jewelry. She said: "When I create, I always have such a picture in my mind that no matter what kind of women are, as long as they want, they can change their way of life and transform at any time." Just as she has always believed that if contemporary women want to become more independent and more confident, external beauty is only a means, and the inner spiritual world is the goal to explore.
From fashion design to jewelry design, from "miniature sculpture" and "astronomy" to the awakening of female self-consciousness and individual inner exploration, "Silecne Record" is Shuman's pursuit and expression from the world of external beauty to the inner spiritual world under self-drive. High-level expression is not limited to complexity and luxury, simplicity and plainness is also another high-level spiritual inner guarding. Not every woman is suitable for wearing pearls, but every woman actually has a gem that suits her inner world. As David Bowie said, jewelry is the product that best reflects "who you are" and enhances personal characteristics.
The following is from Emerald Magazine
Interview with Shuman Yao
Q: You have a rich educational experience, from the United States to France and then to Italy. Can you share your journey? What led you to become a jewelry designer?
A: I have loved sculpture since I was a child, but unfortunately I didn't get into fine arts. By chance, I went to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco to study fashion design. My graduation design at that time allowed me to win a scholarship to go to Paris for an exchange program. After graduation, I have been working in fashion-related jobs in Paris. During my six years in the fashion industry, I worked as a designer assistant at YSL (Saint Laurent), a pattern maker, and a VIP online wear designer for the French luxury e-commerce company 24sèvres.
I have personally touched almost every link in the clothing industry chain. Today's fashion industry needs to produce new products non-stop on a quarterly basis, which inevitably leads to product oversupply and waste of raw materials. The clothing manufacturing industry is a large-scale industrialized production, which will cause huge pollution. These have continuously reduced my enthusiasm for the industry. The rapidly changing fashion industry cannot bring me inner happiness. I hope to explore a medium that can carry more spiritual energy. After reflection and precipitation, at the end of 2021, I decided to switch to jewelry design.
Jewelry is like a "miniature sculpture". Compared with clothing, its artistic expression is freer. When it is worn, it is an accessory, and when it is displayed independently, it is a work of art. Touching natural minerals can make me feel inner peace. Jewelry as a medium seems to promote my exploration of the inner spiritual world and bring together my interests and hobbies more energetically, so "Silence Record" was born.
Q: Astronomical knowledge and images of cosmic bodies often appear in your designs. Can you share your sources of inspiration and creative process?
A: Yes, “the shape of the vessel is in the universe, and it can contain everything”. The design inspiration of “Silence Record” often comes from astronomy, mysticism, dreams and other fields. It wants to convey that everything in the universe is changing, and records the changing and flowing state of stars through jewelry. We cannot catch the stop of time, but can only record their instantaneous appearance, look at impermanence and change normally, and accept the unknown, change and extinction in life more calmly.
I get inspiration from astronomical documentaries. The activities of stars are actually very similar to human life. They have "emotions" and life cycles. I once created a ring called White Dwarf Collapse, which was inspired by the collapse of stars. First, I made a ring in the shape of a collapsed shape, and then designed the cut of the gemstone according to the shape of the ring's hole. In order to simulate the water waves formed by the liquefaction of a celestial body at the moment of collapse, I chose a white crystal from Madagascar. This special-shaped cut is difficult for craftsmen, and we modified it at least five times. In the end, the finished product is viewed from 360 degrees, and every face is flowing. The "dying star" seems to be rotating slowly, which also symbolizes rebirth.
Q: There are many women among your customer base. As a female jewelry designer, do you often observe the social attributes and needs of contemporary women and design products for them? Does the "Silence Record" brand have a female customer portrait?
A: In 2021, the first series I made was called Savior, which is an extra-long pearl crystal necklace around the neck. It can be worn in nine ways and can be styled in any way.
The Savior series is about breaking free from bondage - the status of contemporary women is gradually improving, from traditional women to independent new women, they have more choices and voice. The switching of various identities and social relationships has also put women under more pressure. The metaphor of the Savior series is to break free from the bondage of the times on women, and also to break free from our own spiritual shackles. I have thought about the issue of female customer portraits, but ultimately I do not intend to define a specific portrait. I hope that any customer can gain strength when wearing "SilenceRecord" jewelry, increase their inner exploration and identity, and they can switch the life scene and lifestyle they pursue at any time by changing accessories.
Q: Contemporary women are more independent and confident. How do you view the relationship between "pursuing external beauty" and "inner exploration"? Do you think the two are contradictory or consistent?
A: I think it is very important to explore the inner spiritual world of oneself, and this is what I pursue. Like when I founded "Silence Record", in fact, no one would know "who I am" or "what I like" at the beginning. The experience of "trial and error" is to constantly "self-explore" and do subtraction to find the answer, and build up the core of true self-confidence and independent thinking. The pursuit of external beauty, I think, is a form of expression. But without internal thinking, it will be like an empty shell, that is, "the vessel is greater than the object". For example, Audrey Hepburn once created the classic "Breakfast at Tiffany's" look, a little black dress with pearls. If women all copy Hepburn's classic look, they may not be able to achieve the same amazing effect. Not everyone is suitable for wearing pearls. Only by exploring the inner self and finding a style that suits you can you achieve a balance between the inside and the outside.
Q: Your works seem to convey a message other than jewelry. What is that? Jewelry seems to be a "non-essential item". Why do you think people wear jewelry?
A: In ancient times, the original symbolic meaning of jewelry was not only a decoration, but also a magical instrument to communicate with heaven and earth and used for sacrifice. Throughout history, jewelry seems to have always played the role of a medium connecting the spiritual world and the material world. With the development of civilization, jewelry made of precious materials also symbolizes reputation and status. It was not until after World War II that synthetic glass, resin materials, etc. appeared. When jewelry materials became popular, the decorativeness gradually overshadowed the spiritual symbolic meaning. A piece of clothing needs to be carried by people, but jewelry is different. It is three-dimensional and when displayed, it is an independent work of art. I think jewelry can bring people long-term happiness not only from the perspective of appreciation but also from the perspective of spiritual symbolism.