Rong Jake Chen's path to starting his jewellery label, Melbourne-based Graedance, is a coming-of-age tale that matches the brand's ethos: one where a precocious and ambitious young man sets off into the world looking for ways to express himself, is swept up in the whirlwind ready-to-wear fashion industry, and eventually, through timing, reflection and self-learning, brings his passion project to life. Graedance’s jewellery collection is unapologetically tailored to a new generation of consumers: bold, agenda-setting and savvy; their products are made for the high-functioning and headstrong.

MICHELLE WANG What led you to jewellery design?

RONG JAKE CHEN The first thing I bought for my mum was a pair of dolphin earrings for twenty dollars. I was twelve and bought it with my first cash payment. I remember the immense joy it brought her, and to this day she still has them. 

Prior to jewellery design, I got into fashion after meeting  with designer Jonathan Liang. When COVID  hit, I had two projects at Jonathan Liang and Amxander, which I was the  Co-creative Director of.  At that point I had a lot of time to reflect on the fast pace of the ready-to-wear space, especially how difficult it made avoiding creative burnout, and the amount of waste that the space created.

All these factors  pointed towards jewellery. I spent a year and a half planning the collection, learning about jewellery making and  ensuring that everything made sense on the back end. I knew how complex it would be to start a business like this and I wanted to combine the emotional impetus with a calculated outlook. 

MW That sounds like an ideal mix for starting a creative business: to be clear about your reasons and have your own story, and then at the same time to be discerning about how that translates into pieces that people want to buy. I guess your introduction to fashion wasn't through a conventional path?

RJC I met Jonathan Liang when I was 20, on my way to Paris for an exchange program. He was also moving to Paris, and he was starting a brand and needed some assistance. He knew that I was studying business and asked me if I wanted to help him out. He opened the  door to a creative career for me. It helped me realise that there were so many more options outside of what would have been presented to me at a career fair. 

MW Where do you draw inspiration from? 

RJC This is the first time I've been able to have full creative control of my projects. It's been scary but rewarding as I have  the chance to dive deep into my childhood and re-discover what piqued my imagination then and what continues to do so today. Right now, I am looking at myths and legends and Japanese animation, which are things that are imprinted in my brain.

I also draw a lot of inspiration from artists in different fields, especially how they translate and envision the world around them. I'm really big on collaborations, so if anyone wants to chat, I'd love that! 

I also love to people-watch, even though I get increasingly overwhelmed in busy spaces as I get older. I love seeing how people express themselves; it's a constant source of novelty. I like observing a variety of social cues and picking up on these unique elements of how people self-present. 

MW I'm curious to hear a bit more about the relationship between materiality and design in your creative process. 

RJC They go hand in hand. What's been very different from ready-to-wear is that the materials are much more limited [in jewellery design]. This leads you to engage in a study of form and function.  A lot of the pieces that we create harness the natural properties of materials, such as the softness of the recycled silver we use in our adaptable sizing rings. With demi-custom pieces, like the Arpo Cuff, this comes as a long band, which you can wrap based on the shape of your ear.

MW Is this versatility one of the drawcards of using silver? 

RJC Definitely. I think about what it presents from a utility standpoint. As someone who is fairly pragmatic and has had that mentality pounded into me as an immigrant, I want to get as much value out of a product as possible, and I think it's translated into my design language. 

MW When designing, is sustainability part of your material considerations? 

RJC Jewellery is fantastic because metals can be melted down, reformed and re-sculpted. Generally, I think there is a lack of education in the jewellery space but most people learn from experience when they buy something of low quality, which can break in a few seconds. The longevity of a product and its usability speak to its sustainability. 

Fashion produces a lot of waste with its use of non-decomposable plastic. Is it possible to consume fast fashion in a sustainable way? If you buy something from a large retail line that you wear for twenty years and it brings you joy, I'm ok with that. Sustainability in fashion tends to focus solely on the disposability of cheap clothing and constant wardrobe switching. Yet the biggest percentage of waste comes from consumer packaging. 

MW What about your experience of diversity within the Australian fashion scene? 

RJC People of colour in Australia get some visibility but, long story short, there is a certain market structure that we usually have to fit into in order to find success domestically. 

I am optimistic, though, especially because of the way that social media disrupts this market structure. Platforms like Instagram allow you to form your voice without as much mainstream pressure, find more like-minded communities and gain access to an international audience.

MW What's next for Graedance? 

RJC We've done one main collection called Sacred Slow. Then we did Interlude Z, which is the zodiac collection. I'm planning to release more interlude collections that will reference sociocultural constructs (like the western star signs in 'Z') while our main collections continue to be the truest reflection of our brand ethos. 

There's always going to be new discourse that feeds my designs. Right now, the gender discourse is so huge and presenting genderless collections is relative to this. But in five years, I'm hoping that all jewellery is recognised as genderless, because it is. 

I'm aiming for longevity rather than creating things to hit a trend. There is beauty within a specific moment in time, but I want to approach this project as one where we're crafting pieces that people can keep for a long time. 

What I really want to do is build community.  When people recognise the brand, it gives me so much joy because it means a new community is coming together. That's what I want for the label.

photographer JUN CHIN 
stylist and producer YUZHEN WANG 
photography assistant AMANDA CHADWICK 
styling assistant HAYLEY HING and RILEY MACPHERSON 
makeup MIKELE SIMONE 
hair RICHI GRISILLO 
makeup and hair assistant ZARA ZUST 
movement director ARCHER ROSE 
talent SOPHIE SONG
special thanks KANVAS STUDIOS