In 2016 fast fashion prevails, gender inequality is rife in the industry, and leading brands are constantly under fire for producing their collections in unsatisfactory conditions. If these are problems that are regularly playing on your mind when making purchases, look no further than this jewellery line.
Gurls Talk founder, model and feminist Adwoa Aboah has been unveiled as the new face of Pippa Small Turquoise Mountain, the Kabul-based diffusion line by designer Pippa Small, set up to help create and sustain jobs within Afghanistan’s jewellery making industry.
During the Taliban regime (from 1996 until 2001) jewellery making was reportedly banned in Afghanistan, meaning that when the Taliban were eventually overthrown, the majority of the traditional artisans had fled, or were no longer practicing.
Turquoise Mountain – "an internationally accredited vocational institute training a new generation of Afghan artisans in woodwork, calligraphy and miniature painting, ceramics, jewellery and gem-cutting" – was subsequently established in 2006 under the direction of Prince Charles and the former President of Afghanistan in order to reintroduce these skills, and offer jobs to young people in a country with a bleak future, ripped apart by the regime.
For many men, career choices are still limited to jobs such as taxi driver or fruit seller, while women's options are even fewer and the majority are expected to stay at home, rather than work alongside men. The Turquoise Mountain workshops employ both males and females and encourage them to work alongside each other, a notion so progressive in the country that the company has faced numerous security threats in its short history.
With Gurls Talk, Adwoa has quickly become the fashionable face of feminism, engaging with a new, large audience by using social media to promote her message of female empowerment. Now she's pushing that message even further in becoming the face of Pippa Small's remarkable jewellery line, changing lives in Afghanistan.
"When I was approached to be the Pippa Small Turquoise Mountain ambassador for SS16, I didn’t even need to think about it before accepting," Adwoa explains. "It’s incredible what Turquoise Mountain are doing in Afghanistan – not only are they helping to create jobs, boost the economy and promote the arts, but they are empowering women, which is a cause very close to my own heart through my Gurls Talk initiative. In a world where we are still struggling for gender equality even in the UK, it is awe-inspiring to see the work that Pippa Small and Turquoise Mountain are doing to combat the gender divide in Afghanistan by encouraging women to enter the workshop and earn for themselves – all while crafting a truly beautiful collection of jewellery."
Click ahead to see the entire campaign, to discover more about the remarkable collection and learn about Pippa's inspiring story...
The SS16 Pippa Small Turquoise Mountain collection is available now. The collection is priced from £60 - £1650.
What was the starting point in launching the Kabul-based diffusion line?
Pippa Small: I have been working with Turquoise Mountain, a charity that has created a school of traditional craft in Kabul since 2008, teaching a bit and designing collections a few times a year. However, two years ago I realised that over the years a lot has changed – every year a fresh generation of students graduate and are looking for work, and more and more women and girls were joining the workshop, so we needed to create a strong and sustainable relationship to support a growing group of artisans and their families.
It is also clear that as the situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, it is more and more crucial that young men and women have jobs and hope for a better future. The school and workshop are like a microcosm of a more harmonious, creative and wonderful environment with men and women working together and creating together.
Photographed by Tierney Gearon
Do you think the fashion and jewellery industries could do a lot more to create ethical and environmentally friendly products and effectively change the fast paced, disposable nature of consumerism?
PS: I think there is a slow shift in the consciousness of shoppers and more of an interest in the providence of things – who, how and where things are made – but it is small and the tide of cheap disposable fashion is still strong. The move to less and more considered shopping is essential, we simply cannot continue at this rate.
Jewellery is an interesting area when it comes to ethical products, as for so long the jewellery industry has had a reputation of exploitation, violence and environmental destruction around mining. However, the tide is turning; there are now international standards in place for responsible mining and there are alternatives with fair trade gold in the market and sustainably sourced gems.
In working to empower and provide jobs through jewellery in communities who are very much in need, we can now see small-scale jewellery production having positive effects in communities. We still need to shout loudly about this as I feel people are still overall very unaware of the realities of the jewellery industry and the responsible alternatives on offer.
Photographed by Tierney Gearon
What was the inspiration for this collection specifically and why was Adwoa the perfect fit?
PS: The inspiration for this collection was the Kuchi nomads of Afghanistan. When I first started to go to Kabul, one of the guards where I was staying told me that I looked like a Kuchi woman because I wore so many jangling necklaces and bracelets and bright coloured cloths. I was very flattered when I finally saw some nomad women who were passing through the city, with their faces uncovered and their swaying full skirts and rings on their fingers and long silver earrings. They looked free and confident and defiant.
So this collection was inspired by the ladies of the Kuchi tribe who still follow their vast herds of sheep and goats up into the mountains for grazing. Adwoa seemed a perfect fit because she is brave, speaks out and is defiant too. In founding Gurl Talk, she has created a platform for girls to discuss their vulnerabilities – where their self-esteem might be low, or their voice unheard, or concerns over body image and representation in the media. All of these are such vital topics for young girls to have a role model who is honest and open and who has suffered demons herself and is doing her best to overcome them.
Photographed by Tierney Gearon
Is the Pippa Small woman more discerning and considered when it comes to the story behind the pieces she invests in?
PS: Our women are bold and creative, thoughtful and drawn to pieces of jewellery that have stories and are totally individual. They love the rough and organic feel and want to know where the pieces come from and who has made them. There is such a journey in each piece of jewellery, and a personal connection to be made in knowing the story between women.
I shall never forget working in Mombasa in Kenya with a group of physically disabled women who were making jewellery out of recycled scrap metal. I was working with a woman who only had the use of one hand and the rest of her limbs were paralysed. As she sat in a homemade wheelchair, made from assembled bits of found parts, she put on the necklace we were making of brass flowers and exclaimed "Don't I look beautiful in this?". She truly did, and it so reminded me that women, jewellery and beauty are all caught in a delightful universal and timeless tangle.
With our Turquoise Mountain collection, each piece is handmade by an Afghan man or woman who may be risking a great deal to have a job, to be leaving the house to go out and work – a job that gives her financial independence and enables her to contribute to the family's income, that allows her to be creative, to work with a team, and follow a dream. The stones from the collection are all sourced in Afghanistan and bring with them another story.
Photographed by Tierney Gearon
You've been in the business for 20 years but how would you like to see your business grow?
PS: I would love to see the business grow with more and more sustainable projects, working with craftspeople around the world who have traditions and skills that are in danger of being lost, of people who desperately need jobs and income, where the possibility of working in a safe and creative field is so much better than other options open to them like prostitution or being forced to migrate to find work. I would love to open more shops, and see the work of so many talented people selling all over the world. I would also love to collaborate with other brands in order to let the message of ethical jewellery reach other audiences and other markets – it’s also always a wonderful aesthetic exercise collaborating with other designers.
For more information visit www.pippasmall.com
Photographed by Tierney GearonLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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