Accessories for Darna, Dyesebel and friends

What do Darna, Dyesebel and Galema have in common?

Aside from killer appellations, the three are objects of inspiration for Firma’s Modern Mythologies collection, designed by Michelline Syjuco, Joyce Makitalo and Nicole Whisenhunt.

“Ever since I was little, I was fascinated by these characters,” says Michelline. “I used to watch TV with my yaya to improve my Tagalog, and Darna, Dyesebel and Zuma (the father of Galema) were my favorites. Anak Ni Zuma with Snooky Serna was a favorite, and so was Dyesebel with Alice Dixon and Darna starring Vilma. I suppose they were ingrained in my mind subconsciously.”

Michelline, who was instrumental in forming the concept behind the collection, found a certain charm to what she considered the anti-heroine. Instead of whispy, fainting damsels in distress, she sought out powerful female figures who were either in charge of their own destinies or stirring up trouble themselves.

“I think there is definitely a charm to the anti-hero,” says Michelline. “As a child, I always thought they got to wear the cooler costumes and makeup and possessed the more interesting weapons and powers. A favorite of mine was Malificent from Sleeping Beauty as well as Evil-Lyn from He-Man. I loved her magic staff!

“I always remember Labyrinth’s Jareth, the goblin king portrayed by David Bowie, as my favorite villain,” says Joyce Makitalo. “He is the coolest villain.”

Deciphering the characters proved a trial to some who weren’t quite familiar with them.

“Galema and Dyesebel were very new to me,” Nicole Whisenhunt explains. “Considering that I never  got the chance to grow up with the komik book superheroes, my research relied on learning about their characters instead of getting the chance to see or read about them in action.” “Galema and Dyesebel were freaks of nature,” Joyce adds. “Their physical features were enough to inspire me.”

For Joyce, it was the most famous of the three that was toughest to read.

“At first, Darna was a challenge,” she notes. “The thought of her in costume stopped my creative juices from flowing. But I researched more about her, and found out that she had an anting-anting: When young Narda witnessed a falling star late one night and went to investigate where it landed, she found a stone (from the planet Marte) with the word ‘Darna’ written on it. Hearing others approaching, she popped it in her mouth to hide it but accidentally swallowed it. I began my collection by making a sub-collection called Bertud, inspired by Darna’s subo.”

Daring do: “I always say that the women who wear my jewelry are women who aren’t afraid to equate taste with daring,” says Michelline Syjuco. “That stands true for this collection as well.”

“I don’t know why, but when I think of Darna, I automatically think of gold!” Michelline laughs. Hence: plenty of raw crystal geodes, which she cut herself, set in gold cuffs. “I used a lot of gold for the Darna pieces and a lot of textured surfaces for the cuffs and neckpieces. I also used actual wax drippings as a reference for some of the rings, because I love the abstract shapes. They are very sculptural.”

“I created a fully embroidered corset for the collection which was made for Darna,” Nicole shares. “Most, if not all, super heroes wear a form of a corset. For my version of Darna I stuck to a full corset, instead of the short kind only covering the upper body. In this case I made it a fully-embroidered piece.”

Adds Joyce, “The pieces inspired by Galema’s scaly albino twin and Dyesebel’s crusty sea abode were done mosaic style. The bale design for the pendants was inspired by a steel pipe, which to me represents inner strength.”

Shapes from nature — traced from bark or raw elemental stones or sea-inspired configurations — proved a unifying theme for the designers.

“For this collection, I did a lot of mosaics,” Joyce notes. “I used as many local materials as I could, since the inspiration is Filipino — a lot of strange-looking shells, pearls and local stones. They dictated the palette for my Galema and Dyesebel pieces.”

For Nicole, she mirrored Dyesebel’s home by mining elements from the deep.

“I took my inspiration from the sunken treasures of the sea, rhinestones in shades representing saphires and diamonds, as well as the ocean’s gems like pearls,” she says.

“I’m in love with my Dyesebel cuffs that look like they’ve been underwater for several years. The raw crystals are held down to the cuff by what looks like an encrustation of corals,” Michelline observes. “To me, these are pure magic.”

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The Modern Mythologies collection is available at Firma, Greenbelt 3.

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E-mail me at jackieoflash@yahoo.com or message me on twitter @bealedesma.