A Tribe of Survivors: The Ethereal Jewelry of La Fiancée du Facteur

The new collection by Saigon-based jewelry designer La Fiancée du Facteur is an ode to human strength where the mystical and the mythological merge in wearable original art pieces.

“It’s a tribe of survivors that live in the mountains in the north of the region of Yokaâ on an imaginary planet,” explains Penelope Cadeau, better known by her designer name, La Fiancée du Facteur. Her newest collection comes with a fantastical history that borders on a fantasy adventure so rich it is more likely to be heard during a pitch for an epic film than an interview with a jewelry designer. Then again, there is nothing common in the work or persona of this young designer.

“Only few people have survived after wars and epidemics,” she continues. “One day, a young, beautiful, naked teenage boy [Hycliad-Osc-Yoör] arrives riding a chimera and together with the survivors he forms a new tribe.”

Unlike most jewelers, who either attach a seriousness to the luxurious aspect of their craft or are solely driven by the aesthetics of the final product, Cadeau’s process is similar to that of an artist. From conception to the selection of the material to presentation, she communicates her convictions, emotions and outlook on life through jewelry.

Cadeau's creative concepts are often informed by mythical stories, female muses or medieval figures, which are then re-interpreted into unique contemporary compositions that give a nod to antique jewelry.

Model wearing Meridaâ necklace. Photo by Truc-Anh. Image courtesy of La Fiancée du Facteur.

For Cadeau, the new collection, Yioör-Joehkraâs, marks a moment of creative growth and personal consolidation.

“My style has changed,” she says. “It has taken me four years to find it. For all my previous collections, I had a female muse to inspire me. Now I have changed; I have created a tribe. It’s not from our planet, it is an ancestral tribe: they have their own stories and religion. They are fictional but they could exist. They look like you and me.”

The female figure is still the catalyst of her work, but Cadeau no longer feels the need to impose the representation of female power. Instead, she focuses more on expanding the depiction of strong personalities within a primordial natural setting and the mysticism that comes with it.

Model wearing Giant Hycliad earrings. Photo by Truc-Anh. Image courtesy of La Fiancée du Facteur.

La Fiancée du Facteur's new collection, which was first unveiled in Paris and recently in Saigon, depicts the tribe six generations after the young boy’s arrival. By this time, he has assumed the mystical role of a god. The motifs of this fictional mythological tradition surface in her earrings and rings where, for example, the chimera is represented as a tiger-buffalo. The necklace of the tribal queen, called Meridaâ’s Shield and made with labradorite gemstone, gold-plated brass and velvet ribbon, carries the lineage of the tribe, which is passed down to women only.

“I still want my jewelry to empower women. I like nature and I speak about adventurous women,” says Cadeau. “Imagine you have to go through a lot of danger; you go through a cave and at the end of it there is a talisman. That talisman is my piece of jewelry. Every time I draw a piece, I imagine that cave: the dangerous journey and the wild animals encountered. This is why I like to mix vintage Swarovski with raw stones. I want to show that a stone can be nice even if it is not beautiful. I want to break the perception.”

While we speak, she shows the Hycliad ring, a striking semi-opened gold-plated brass ring with a tiger-buffalo motif, and the Aâktha earrings, which feature a labradorite stone nested in a gold-plated flat, phoenix-like figure. Both could be easily have come from an ancient South American or Asian civilization.

Model with Hycliad necklace. Photo by Truc-Anh. Image courtesy of La Fiancée du Facteur.

Cadeau knows her creations face two big challenges in Vietnam. The first is aesthetic: big and elaborate jewelry are not common, as local aesthetics are better-suited to minimalist and conservative feminine fashion tastes.

“I have a lot of customers that keep in touch with me,” Cadeau explains. “They are too shy to wear my usual designs, so for those types of women I make pieces that still carry my own design while they are easier to wear and more affordable. The details are hidden because when you are powerful you do not have to show your powers.”

The other obstacle concerns a lack of appreciation for and understanding of designer pieces.

“In Vietnam, I always have to explain the idea behind my work,” says Cadeau. “When you buy a designer piece, you also buy the idea and the culture behind it.”

Model wearng Meridaâ earrings. Photo by Truc-Anh. Image courtesy of La Fiancée du Facteur.

Often sourced directly through her travels, raw gemstones like amber, lapis lazuli and labradorite feature predominantly in Yioör-Joehkraâs due to their aesthetic qualities, powers and wearability.

“I work with half-precious stones,” she explains. “I particularly like labradorite – an opaque, grey stone that still possesses a beautiful play of light – for its power. It is like an energy shield that helps people with negative energy or that are stressed and depressed. It connects with the survival theme of the tribe.”

The brass gold-plating which finishes the pieces lasts longer in Vietnam's climate and allows women to wear the jewelry even if they are allergic to metals.

The Yioör-Joehkraâs photo shoot for the collection is a cross between art and fashion. Overseen by multi-disciplinary artist Truc-Anh, Cadeau has also partnered with renowned make up and visual artist Tung Chau.

As Cadeau explains: “I want my models to behave like my tribe and wear the jewelry like they would in their world.”

Model wearing Hycliad ring. Photo by Truc-Anh. Image courtesy of La Fiancée du Facteur.

La Fiancée du Facteur can be found in Saigon at Studio Co. and Kokois as well as online and across Europe and Southeast Asia.

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