WORLD BEAUTY

(FROM A WEEKEND NOTE, THE EDITOR'S LETTER IN STYLE WEEKEND, MANILA BULLETIN'S WEEKEND SPECIAL, EVERY FRIDAY, 2 MAY 2008)

Start the weekend with yet another boost to our national ego!

Log on to paulsmith.co.uk. Click on “Shop,” then choose “United Kingdom/Rest of the World.” From there, move on to “Women’s Accessories,” then click “Jewelry” and—voila!—the Tweetie Gonzalez earrings. With a drop length of seven centimeters, the gold-plated “Hollywood” hoop earrings have blue Swarovski crystals and orange dyed jade. I believe the other pair I saw just a day before has already been sold.

BLURB
We have the know-how, the inspirations, the facilities... to make [jewelry design] a viable business. —Tweetie de Leon Gonzalez

The better news is, if you click on the earrings, it proudly announces in the description that they are “designed by Tweetie Gonzalez and handmade in the Philippines” but because, one’s country of origin cannot just be relegated to the fine print, at the bottom of the description, it says yet again “Made in the Philippines.”

Tweetie is especially proud of this: “I think it’s also a validation for our country, that we have the know-how, the inspirations, the facilities… to make this a viable business.”

What’s on the Paul Smith website is from an existing collection. None of it was designed exclusively for Paul Smith and Paul Smith had no say whatsoever on the design. “That’s why this is a great validation of me as a designer, that I’m good enough for them,” says Tweetie of the UK brand that first ordered from her collection in 2006. “LA was the first to order and it did well. About a year later, London called and sent pieces to Milan.”

This supermodel made her mark as an accessories designer with the Kamagong Collection, which she considers her trademark. Kamagong is a species of Philippine hardwood. “That did really well, for me. It’s been a year since it debuted, but it remains current,” says Tweetie. “It made the international market notice. It’s not distinctly Filipino because while I do use natural pieces, I inject a more modern touch to them. They look different from other pieces abroad. Although I use indigenous materials, my pieces are modern, young, upbeat, but nothing overwhelming…”

As a designer, Tweetie is rigorously following the disciplines of balance, ethics, and originality. “I don’t really search on what’s current,” she says. “I try my best not to look at magazines. I don’t want to be accused of imitating. My designs come from my own taste and design principles, although the structure, the look is generally classic, they’re fun to wear, but not to the point of being outlandish.”

If the buyers of the jewelry only knew more about the person behind it, I’m sure they would buy them all in a snap, if only because handmaking everything down to the very last detail Tweetie surely must have poured so much of her energy and passion into each piece.

After all, who doesn’t want a piece of Tweetie, who seems to radiate and attract all things bright and beautiful? She was—and still is—a supermodel, but she has had none of the drugs, sex, eating disorders, and diva catfights associated with the job. She was in showbusiness, which failed to bring anything ugly enough out of her to deserve the front page of a tabloid.

Tell me, indeed, how can we expect anything less than beautiful from someone like Tweetie de Leon Gonzalez?

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post me at aapatawaran@yahoo.com