While some designers are guided by pure aesthetics, Wing Yau of WWAKE relies on nature herself to guide the design process. The jewelry designer champions a sustainable production model that sources directly from ethical, fair-trade mines in order to preserve the authentic properties of each stone. Yau understands that jewelry is a highly personal purchase, and incorporates these design practices to allow for total transparency for the customer. The former CFDA/Lexus Fashion*Initiative finalist is available at the CFDA’s Sustainability Shop at Fred Segal on Sunset, so we asked her to share details on her holistic approach to sustainability, and how this impacts her design process for the better.
What inspired you to embrace sustainability in the first place?
Quite honestly, our sustainable practices came out of my appreciation for the purity and the magic of our materials. I have a background in sculpture, so naturally, my inspiration stems from my materials. As a jewelry designer now, I learned that colored gemstones commonly have no true provenance in the industry. The stones are traded between innumerable hands and treated, so the authentic properties of the stones are easily lost. They have no provenance. My goal with WWAKE designs is to push against that grain, retain the true story and the magic behind our stones, and have it resonate through the jewelry. For us, this means sourcing with tight and transparent supply chains with communities in Africa, Colombia, and Australia. The result is not only magical, beautiful jewelry, but a unique connection to a world beyond your own.
How do you incorporate sustainable practices into your design process, and the way you run your company?
WWAKE is meant to be personal in every way, from the intimate scale of our designs to the collaborative women-run approach to business to our relationships with our customers, gemstone and metal miners. It’s important that we stay close to everything we do, and this mean being dedicated to specific miners at the source of our jewelry.
I’m dedicated to working with micro-mining communities who rely on this practice to sustain their families and livelihood. I’ve visited several of these communities and am happy to share that they work with environmentally-responsible practices and use their proceeds to further develop their own communities. A lot of people vilify mining, but it’s an incredible opportunity for these individuals to support themselves and develop infrastructure for their future. It’s personal. My goal with WWAKE jewelry is to connect you to the earth, and to every hand that touches it.
Is the design approach for sustainable product different? How so?
Yes! Traditionally, designers start with color inspiration, and then source the colors from wherever these colors may be found. But we do the opposite. A single mine produces a sweeping range of stone colors—from blues, to whites, to pinks—and we design our collections around what nature provides. This way, we have a closer connection to the earth, and also deepen the support we provide to micro mining communities.
What’s your advice for designers looking to become more sustainable?
Give yourself time. It’s a work in progress, not a race to perfection!
Why is sustainability so important now, more than ever?
More than ever, designers and consumers are aware of their impact on the rest of the world and want to make the right choices.
