Pearls, fashion, ballet and all that jazz in Hong Kong

Let me tell you what I saw at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair this year. A beautiful fashion show featuring our very own Jewelmer South Sea pearls, yes. But what I saw right after the show was even more fascinating and amusing.

From the backstage, our models came marching out to join the guests for the cocktail reception. Guess what! Men, most of them armed with cameras, started swarming around the models who were still wearing their pearls and couture clothes. These men began chatting with the models and taking their photos. Were they DOMs hoping to lure pretty young things? Or talent agents looking for new faces? Certainly not. Their zoom lenses were focusing not on the models, but on the pearl jewelry the girls wore. Can’t industry copycats be a little more subtle?

This reminds us of what Ely Pinto of CITEM noted during a furniture exhibit in Europe where the pieces in the Philippine booth were sold out. Surely, tiny high-tech cameras of viewers were silently clicking, because soon after the exhibit, imitations from other parts of the world came out in the market.

This is really flattering for us, the best form of applause for Filipino creativity and excellence.

For three years now, Jewelmer – combining French elegance with Filipino craftsmanship – has been reaping applause at the annual jewelry fair in Hong Kong’s Convention Centre. It manages to attract audiences and buyers amid a multitude of choices from exhibitors all over the world by way of a couture-cultural show.

Such creative marketing strategy is the brainchild of two men with a vision: Manuel Cojuangco, Jewelmer president, who has been in the pearl industry for 20 years, and Jacques Branellec, his managing director, a pioneer in black pearl cultivation in Tahiti. For this year’s show, Cojuangco and Branellec decided to mix pearls with couture, jazz and ballet.

Award-winning couturiers Rhett Eala, Dennis Lustico and Jojie Lloren wove pearls into their designs, each one with a different fashion statement.

Jazz greats Eddie Katindig and Tots Tolentino together with Terry Undag and the MAJAM band (Johnny Torres on piano, Ruben Reyes on bass guitar and Joey Valenciano on drums) performed with such bravura, and so did Ballet Philippines, dancing in and out of the ramp with such awesome agility. (We found Jojo Mamangun the most graceful of them all.)

Cleverly putting the three elements into one cohesive show was hip director Robby Carmona.

"We want to show not only the beauty of Philippine pearls, but facets of Philippine culture as well," explains Cojuangco, an avowed nationalist. "We want to project our country and our rich traditions as well." While the past two years delved on the Philippines’ old-world elegance and ethnic charm, this year the focus was on contemporary arts – hence, all that jazz and modern ballet. One of the musical numbers in the program was Gary Valenciano’s hit, What More Can I Say, as rendered by Undag, using his trumpet and flugelhorn. As for Ballet Philippines, their innovative repertoire shows how the country’s flagship dance company has dexterously evolved in its 33rd year.

For the 2002 show, Rhett Eala showed a Japanese-inspired collection with the omnipresent obi, one of the current bestsellers (despite its pricey tag) in his Wink shop in Glorietta. His previous bestseller was his signature poncho which has been copied by practically every RTW boutique in Manila. Trust the trendsetting Rhett to make fashionistas giddy again with his next must-have item.

Dennis Lustico and Jojie Lloren, two other precious gems among today’s breed of Filipino designers, dazzled the Hong Kong audience with their unconventional twists and architectural silhouettes. We had seen most of those designs in their Manila shows, but what the heck. They made us feel so fiercely proud of our very own talents.

One big thing we like about Jewelmer is that it continues to evolve with the fashion of the times. While it creates classic pearl jewelry – the kind that looks so lovely with wedding ensembles, Filipiniana attire and evening wear – Jewelmer also makes hip and modern pieces that look good with both denims and party clothes. The kind worthy of being coveted and copied by other jewellers.

What will Jewelmer present next year in Hong Kong? You can be sure that this early, Mr. Cojuangco and Mr. Branellec are already starting to sting their pearls of thought.