You may have spotted jewellery designer Bea Bongiasca’s colourful creations in behind the scenes shots from the set of Dua Lipa’s “Fever” video that she shared with her 54.3 million Instagram followers. Bea’s Baby Vine Tendril rings adorned almost every one of the singer’s fingers, while a colourful Lucky Flower enamel necklace nestled at her throat. Dua also completed the zesty Burberry runway look she wore for a recent appearance on Good Morning America with bright Bongiasca gems, and the 29-year-old designer’s wrapped hoops and wiggly two-tone earrings have also made their way into the star’s jewellery collection.
Like the interiors craze for twisted candlesticks, curvy vases and squiggly mirrors (specifically the It girl-approved Ultrafragola mirror), the mood-boosting properties of Bongiasca’s candy-hued Tendril jewels have propelled them into the spotlight. Her pieces tick plenty of millennial-friendly boxes. Swirly? Yep. Eye-catching and bright? Absolutely. Instagrammable? Most definitely.
Bongiasca’s unique You’re So Vine collection, comprised of intertwined warped enamel rings sprinkled with peridot, amethyst, topaz and crystals, is typical of her joyous style. “My jewellery represents who I am as a person, so I’ve been able to keep it very coherent because I don’t have to fake anything.” The designer favours a hands-on approach to every element of her deliberately small-scale business—her studio is on the same block where her mum works, and Bea is behind every post that goes live on her brand’s Instagram feed.
Another factor that’s key to Bea Bongiasca’s youthful appeal: a relatively affordable price point. A young fan could conceivably save for one of her £395 Baby Vine rings, fashioned from 9-carat gold and sterling silver using artisanal techniques. “I’m not trying to sell expensive investment jewellery,” she muses. “I want to be realistic [for] my age group.”
But while the 29-year-old’s rainbow pieces have won over hordes of IG girls—Miley Cyrus and Ashley Graham among them—she also has older fans, including her mum. “She wears all my jewellery and looks awesome.” Bea herself is also an avid wearer of her own designs: “It’s my job to have nice hands,” she laughs. “I go quite crazy with manicures so that always helps.”
When the Milanese designer founded her eponymous line back in 2014, stores were unsure where her pieces—distinguished by coloured enamel and semi-precious stones—fit on the jewellery spectrum, she says, given that it was neither budget costume jewellery nor high-end diamonds. Bongiasca’s rise to prominence suggests her playful, mid-market brand is exactly what was missing.
This article originally appeared on British Vogue.
