Taking High Jewellery Down a Boldly Thrilling and Darkly Enigmatic Avenue
The portrait of Dennis Song
Some pieces of jewellery defy description-they can only be experienced at a visceral level. That is the feeling one is left with on looking at Ming Song’s high jewellery creations. Ming Song Haute Joaillerie produces one of a kind high jewellery pieces, which are nothing less than works of art. The two foundation stones which underlie every creation of the brand are an uncompromising dedication to contemporary design aesthetic and a three-dimensional illusory quality which gives an almost liquid fluidity to the jewellery pieces. Therefore, one doesn’t just see or admire a piece of jewellery produced by the Ming Song high jewellery brand…one feels it deeply.
Dennis Song, the founder and creative genius behind Ming Song Haute Joaillerie, is difficult to describe in just a few words. He is as a jewellery artist and designer, but in my opinion, he is also a producer of jewelled spectacles, brimming with drama and meaning, spectacles the likes of which the world has never seen before. In every jewellery piece he designs, Dennis brings in his rich Chinese heritage as well as an undeniable metropolitan flair, given that he has lived in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Milan.
Le Lion Blanc 2021, 102 ct Columbian Emerald & Tahitian pearls, Ming Song Haute Joaillerie
Dennis has a broad and varied experience in the jewellery world, which include some exceptional jewellery collaborations. After graduating from Central St. Martins in London in 2013, where he majored in jewellery design, Dennis began stellar journey into the world of jewellery. An important milestone in his early career was his collaboration with Swarovski in 2015, which won him rave reviews and many accolades. For this project, Dennis designed avant-garde jewellery pieces which were shown at the Victoria Albert Museum as part of the “Savage Beauty” exhibition, which commemorated the life and work of fashion designer Alexander McQueen. (Currently, Dennis is collaborating with the Beijing Palace Museum (The Forbidden City) to produce a jewellery collection which pays homage to the Beijing Palace Museum collection as well as traditional Chinese auspicious symbols.)
In 2016, Dennis Song joined the Richemont Group where he started off by joining the jewellery and high-end watch design team. However, later in the same year, Dennis moved to the Cartier headquarters’ design team in Paris and became one of their youngest jewellery designers. Nevertheless, a real career turning point came for him in 2017 when he established his own jewellery brand, Ming Song Haute Joaillerie in Paris. Since then, Dennis has never looked back!
The latest capsule collection crafted by the Ming Song Haute Joaillerie brand is a diverse offering of unique and distinctive high jewellery pieces. Each piece has been designed by Dennis and made by high jewellery craftsmen at the Ming Song atelier, in a highly synchronised ballet of vision and execution. The jewellery collection has many surreal elements and is rife with symbolism. But the one common theme which runs through the collection is the bold and intrepid use of colours and contours to express feelings and emotions. In fact, a 360° view of the pieces is the only way to fully appreciate the ideas and sentiments that each piece represents. One of the highlights of the collection is its darkly intriguing look at animalia in jewellery. Le Lion Noir bangle featuring panther heads at its terminals, a jewelled serpent with a multicoloured butterfly caught in its fangs are just two exceptional examples of the transformation of predatory animals into opulently realised jewelled pieces that evoke wonder.
The "Le Lion Noir" collection, the bangle and the ring, double headed lion ring, & Lames de Rose II Ming Song Haute Joaillerie
However, the apogee of the collection is the Le Serpent II ring, which is chillingly gorgeous in all its very fine details.
But the collection has a softer side to it as well. The Forbidden Flower IV, a ring is tantalizingly beautiful as it stands caught between light and shadows. The pink diamond and pink pearl drop earrings, with their luminous pearls and rounded contours, have a gentle inviting quality. Similarly, the baroque pearl and gold drop earrings, though edgier, have an immutable elegance.
Forbidden Flower IV, Forbidden Flower I, a new pair of "La Some I" earrings, & La Proie du Serpent, Mind Song Haute Joaillerie
Ming Song Haute Joaillerie is set to change the way we understand jewellery. Each piece of jewellery produced at their atelier carries the unmistakable signature of jewellery designer Dennis Song, whose vision of high jewellery is all his own-innovative, captivating and mysterious.
Author: Reema Farooqui
