Colour Me Happy
Melinda Zeman on Bouchier, her new jewellery brand
At a time when doom and gloom seem de rigueur, brands and makers whose mission is simply to bring cheer are worth celebrating. The bright, confectionery-inspired designs of Melinda Zeman’s new jewellery brand Bouchier are each a tiny, mood-boosting ray of sunshine. Zeman, the entrepreneur and daughter-in-law of founder and chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group Allan Zeman, wants to spark joy one jewellery piece at a time through her colourful collection, which is inspired by her diverse upbringing.
The mother-of-four, who is halfchinese, half-ghanaian, moved to Hong Kong from the UK at the age of five to be closer to her mother’s side of the family and picked up the local dialect right away. “I didn’t speak a word of Cantonese when I moved here and my grandmother didn’t speak a word of English, so I learnt Cantonese very fast,” she says. After her marriage to Allan Zeman’s son Jonathan 11 years ago, she converted to Judaism to raise her children in her husband’s faith. “I’m as multicultural as it gets,” she says with a laugh.
After her marriage, the University of California communications graduate worked in the Lan Kwai Fong Group’s marketing department for three years before trying her hand at jewellery, designing for herself at first before developing an entire collection. Naming Hollywood starlet and vintage glamour icon Elizabeth Taylor as her muse, Zeman says it was seeing how jewellery had the ability to transform the way a person looked that inspired her to launch her own line, infused with her DNA. “I wanted to launch a brand that bridged East and West to reflect who I am as a person. The brand needed to have an element of surprise, too, as this is often the first reaction people have when they meet me. I don’t look Asian on the outside but I speak fluent Chinese and was raised in a Chinese home.”
Conceived in December 2019, Bouchier gets its name from Guillaume Bouchier, a French goldsmith who brought western craftsmanship and technique to Asia in the 1200s. Instagram followers browsing through the brand’s feed will immediately see Zeman’s upbeat personality come shining through. It’s clear what the inspiration is: bright splashes of colour, bling and Nineties R&B music.
“I’ve been obsessed with colour from a very young age. I grew up during the golden age of MTV in the Nineties, when bold colours and gold chain necklaces were everywhere. I was also influenced by the beautiful gowns worn in Chinese period dramas, and vibrant African prints. When colour is put together properly, it’s uplifting, sophisticated and a total showstopper, which is what I hope to create with Bouchier,” she says. In March, her designs came to life at her first pop-up with footwear and accessories boutique On Pedder, which she says was a major brand milestone. “Fine jewellery has always been a conservative space. I wanted to do something completely different. I wanted our colours to be fun, bright and energetic yet still sophisticated and timeless.”
Bouchier is available online as well as at the brand’s whimsical showroom in Central. The collection ranges from finely crafted 18-karat gold, 6.4 carat diamond chain-link bracelets to understated ruby rings and her signature (and most Instagramworthy) collection, Fruit Hoops, a zany line-up of yellow gold, enamel and diamond rings, earrings and necklaces in neon shades of orange, pink, yellow, purple and green, designed to either be worn alone or stacked together. “I try not to overcomplicate designs because true elegance lies in simplicity,” she says. As Bouchier’s website states, the brand aims to be “Cuttingedge without pretence. Cool but still friendly. The new luxury”.
As for the future of Bouchier, Zeman has her sights set on taking the brand global and says her “ultimate dream” is to see celebrities like Rihanna, Adut Akech Bior, Amina Muaddi and Nini rock her pieces. “We want to remind people not to take themselves too seriously. We want everyone to look at our jewellery and smile,” Zeman says. Mission accomplished.