Neckweights. That's what I used to call them, when "bib necklaces" were in vogue, back in the day when enormous statement necklaces wore women, and not the other way around. But don't get me wrong, I celebrated this trend with such gusto, and I have fond memories designing and developing into this trend-while it lasted.

Flashback to 2009, in my first collaboration with designer Peter Som for his Spring 2010 collection. I had the most delicious time interpreting his direction, which, in my own succinct version, is jewelry with nautical motifs infused with Japanese street girl attitude, dunked in steroids.

I used elements such as repurposed vintage jewelry, resinated rattan components, wood and metallic gumball-sized beads, and made an armature of jumbled large chain to create the illusion of volume. The result is a whimsical opus comprised of a few necklaces and bracelets, which complemented his esthetic of unpredictable mixes of colors, prints and textures, with a whiff of irreverence.

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Peter Som Spring 2010 presentation at Milk Studios, September 2009.

photos: © 2016 Arturo Veloira