REGAL PRESENCE
RUTH PESTANA Co-founder and marketing director of Forbidden Hill
For Forbidden Hill founders Ruth Pestana and David Aumonier, the Lion City was a natural magnet for them to manifest the design brand they have always dreamed of. Pestana has roots in Singapore— her Portuguese ancestors first settled in Malacca, intermarried with the locals, before moving here—and her career in design also first started right on our shores. “I have always had a strong bond with the Little Red Dot,” Pestana says. “The design community here has grown immensely since I first started work, with great resources to draw upon, and the Singapore brand becomes more desirable by the day.” Being a nexus that connects the Southeast Asian countries certainly helps as well, as Forbidden Hill draws on the rich culture of the region to inspire its designs. We talk to Pestana about the origins of her brand, how Southeast Asia continues to inspire her designs, and the finer points of being a gentleman.
How did Forbidden Hill come about?
The idea for the brand itself was sparked from discussions between my husband and co-founder David Aumonier and I about my multicultural heritage. Our conversations led to the concept of creating a refined brand that embraces the rich diversity of Southeast Asia.
We decided to call our brand Forbidden Hill as a tribute to an adventurous time in Singapore’s history and its central role in Southeast Asia. In the 14th century, Singapore was a thriving port on the Silk Road of the Sea. At that time, merchants and explorers from all over Asia and as far away as Europe, came to Singapore in search of precious metals, silks, ceramics, jewellery, perfumes and spices. During this time, the first Kings of Singapore lived on the original Forbidden Hill, known then by its Malay name of Bukit Larangan, which is Fort Canning today. From this hill, the royal family presided over the early multicultural city of Singapore. The hill was considered hallowed ground and the remains of work by royal artisans have been found on it.
Today, our designs embody the spirit of diversity and inventiveness of Singapore’s early years, as we blend inspiration from the cultures and crafts of Southeast Asia with contemporary interpretations of style and material.
How did your Southeast Asian heritage influence the designs of Forbidden Hill?
An integral part of our design philosophy is to see things in a new light and create fresh expressions of motifs drawn from the region’s iconography, architecture, textiles and crafts. My heritage has given us a strong appreciation of the important historical role that ports such as Singapore and Malacca have played in the exchange of trade and culture. As such, we have fused visual elements drawn from the histories of these ports with modern aesthetics to create some of our jewellery collections, such as Ban Zu.
The Ban Zu design is a contemporary rendition of lattice motifs found on Chinese ceramics traded in Singapore during the 14th century. We have reimagined this motif in precious metals—sterling silver, rose gold vermeil, gold and rhodium—and combined them with strikingly coloured resin or silk to create cufflinks, cuff bracelets and earrings.
In your opinion, what makes a man stylish?
Attitude—it’s not just what you wear but how you wear it and carry yourself.
What is one book every stylish man should read?
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
And what is one movie that he should watch?
Plein Soleil, the 1960 film adaptation of the book, The Talented Mr Ripley—though the 1999 film adaptation is also sartorially brilliant.