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CHANGING ROLES FOR WOMEN INSPIRE DESIGNER'S EVOLUTION

(Los Angeles, CA) — IAN SAUDĒ: IS is a new fine jewelry and lifestyle brand focused on creating distinctive designer accessories inspired by fine art, cutting-edge fashion and the way women live today. Current collections focus predominantly on contemporary fine jewelry in18K gold and colored gemstones, and on personal and home accessories in cashmere.

Ian Saudē explains, "When it comes to jewelry, what I feel sets me apart from many other jewelry designers in my category isn't merely that our collections are fashion forward or impeccably crafted. Those things must be givens. It's also about our awareness of broader movements in fashion and lifestyle and about understanding what other factors effect women today. Like our customer, our designs have to be more than just beautiful; they must have the power to evolve and transform — to speak to someone for years to come."

Saudē observes that, due to the shifting roles and added complexities that modern women face, they are often looking for ways to both enrich and simplify their lives, simultaneously. "Working in and out of the home... being sandwiched between the needs of growing children and aging parents...learning to be tough and savvy, but nurturing at the same time... women are dealing with many challenges all at once,"Saudē notes. "They're trying to find personal fulfillment and growth in an increasingly busy, impersonal and fragmented world."

In response to this, Transformation has become a major theme of Saudē's new jewelry line, both in terms of style and function. His designs aim at being, "highly contemporary while poised to become future-classics". Many of the pieces can also be adapted or enhanced in some way, so that their look can transform over time. "I am fascinated by transformation and metamorphosis. So stylistically, I want the jewelry to be like the "modern"furniture of the early 20th century — timeless and contemporary at the same time. Beyond that, when possible, I like to create options so that the pieces can actually transform and serve their owner in new ways, responding to the changes in her life."

Saudē sums up his distinctive approach to design as "the Four E's,"which are Empower, Effect, Evolve and Explore. The designer elaborates:

  • Empower means that the piece of jewelry needs to enable a woman to take charge of her look and therefore her situation; it needs to enhance her confidence and sense of control.
  • Effect means it enables her to create a definitive, personal style that makes an impression and supports her quest for added individuality.
  • Evolve means that the piece must respond to her constant life-changes both in terms of design and functionality. The look is contemporary and classic at the same time. In addition, when possible, it can be adaptable so that the piece is able to re-invent itself and change as she changes. This adds value to the piece and contributes to her sense of versatility and her ability to look great whatever the situation.
  • Explore means that she should be able to use her collection of meaningful pieces to explore her personal creativity by taking time out to play — to try out different scenarios for herself and to become part of her own design process.

    All my jewelry is formulated to enhance our customer's natural beauty, to respect her intelligence and maturity and to enrich her life by supporting her continued personal evolution through these four principles."

    Saudē concludes, "While fine jewelry cannot necessarily reduce a woman's stress level, it can contribute to her sense of self confidence and well being. I'm not talking about retail therapy. I'm talking about collecting objects that become meaningful parts of one's personal history — objects that mark significant events in one's inner life and say something about oneself to the world. In America, much of a woman's jewelry traditionally had to do with her relationship to a man. It was about an engagement or wedding, an anniversary or birth — maybe even to make up for a husband's indiscretion! That is fine. But I always find it inspiring to discover a woman who uses jewelry to express herself in her own terms."

    End of Release. Last Updated: 11/28/08