Matilde Faria Mourinho Felix established her jewellery brand in December 2020, MATILDE Jewellery. It specialises in using only 100 per cent recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds with sustainability underpinning all development and design.
Matilde Faria Mourinho Felix received a BA in Creative Direction from the London College of Fashion before heading on to study for her MA at the Conde Nast College of Fashion, focusing on Entrepreneurship. She spent time looking at earth-friendly diamonds and thinking about how she contribute to the jewellery industry without contributing what she perceived as more problems.
The 25-year-old has already earned fans in Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Thandwie Newton, Naomi Scott, Kylie Minogue and Wallis Day. Here, she tells us how it all began, her work process and what’s next.
Why jewellery? Was it something you were always interested in?
“I always loved jewellery and the power that it has. I love how something so small, and delicate can hold so much meaning and memories. For me, with every piece of jewellery I own and wear, there is something connected to it. Whether that is of the person who gave me the piece, the time and place where I bought it, who it’s been passed down from, and so on. I always keep that in mind when creating anything for MATILDE Jewellery.”
Did you always want your own label?
“It wasn’t something that I had always planned on doing, but now looking back I always wanted to have my own business. It’s challenging and tough at times, but it’s so rewarding, and I really consider MATILDE Jewellery my baby. I put so much into everything we do and I would never look back.”
How long between graduation and setting up the label?
“I finished my master’s degree in August 2020, graduated in November 2020, and then launched MATILDE Jewellery in December 2020. Although it wasn’t much time in between, I had been working on the brand for about a year before so for me the plan was always to launch right after graduating.”
How would you describe the brand?
“I would describe MATILDE Jewellery as modern yet timeless. Our community is filled with conscious and aware consumers who value the same things we do. They are also our key pillars of anything we do – sustainability, transparency, and fairness.”
What are the brand’s signature designs?
“I would say our Heritage Collection has one of our signature designs, inspired by the traditional Portuguese Coração de Viana. Pieces like the Coração necklace, Viana necklace, Amor bracelet, Heritage bangle feature this same heart design which I think is the perfect combination of modern yet timeless. It takes a symbol that has been a part of Portuguese heritage for generations, and it modernises it for the modern yet timeless woman that is the MATILDE woman.
Another signature element of our designs would be the element of imperfectness. If you look carefully at most of our pieces, they don’t have perfectly round circles or edges, everything is inspired in natural movement, and I really wanted that to translate into the pieces.”
Talk us through your design process?
“I would say it varies. Some pieces I have a clear vision of what I want, and I can put it down on paper quite easily. Other pieces start more with an idea or a concept and then take some more development. For these, I put together references and inspirations and a rough initial sketch, and then I work along-side a technical jewellery designer that helps me develop the piece to bring it to life. My training isn’t specifically in technical jewellery design so for me it was important to be able to work alongside someone who can make up for the skills that I lack.”
What is your own jewellery style like?
“My jewellery style is very much MATILDE Jewellery. I started the brand and I put a lot of myself into it, so that reflects in the style of the pieces. I would never design or sell something that I wouldn’t wear. I’m someone who can’t sit still for too long so for me jewellery needs to be wearable and comfortable above anything. I hate when you get to the end of the day and your ears feel heavy from wearing hoops all day for example, so I made sure MATILDE’s hoops were light but still chunky. Some days I am more minimal and go for small, delicate, subtle pieces, and other days I like the thicker more statement ones.”
Sustainability is clearly key and important to the brand, tell me more about that?
“Sustainability is without a doubt important to the brand. Before launching I was doing a lot of research on the jewellery industry, and part of that is the detrimental environmental and social impacts that come from the traditional jewellery industry – specifically diamond and gold mining. I was always aware of the harmful effects of the industry, but when you spend so much time researching and learning there are just certain things you can’t ignore.
I knew I couldn’t possibly start my own jewellery brand and be a part of and add to the problem. So, I started looking into different sustainable alternatives and practices and really focused on how to make MATILDE Jewellery as sustainable, transparent, and fair as possible. Ultimately, I decided that the way to make that happen was to use solely lab-grown diamonds and 100% recycled gold.”
You launched, it seems, during lockdown? What was that like? How has the response been?
“Launching during lockdown was an interesting experience to say the least. It was challenging, and not how I would have chosen to launch if you had asked me two years ago but now looking back, I think regardless of when you launch there will always be challenges and obstacles and what matters is how you adapt and overcome those. Lockdown / the pandemic in general taught us all that we had to be flexible (amongst other things) – and I think that was valuable for me, especially with me being someone who usually over plans.
The response was better than I could have ever hoped for / expected. The past couple of years there has been a big shift in consumer behaviour, towards a more responsible and conscious way of shopping. So in general more people are looking for sustainable alternatives.”
What is it like seeing someone wearing something you have designed?
“Every time I see anyone wearing MATILDE Jewellery, whether it is someone on a red-carpet event, family or friends, or anyone really, I still get so excited and happy. It’s an amazing feeling and it just really inspires me more.”
What’s next?
We have so many exciting things in the works. I won’t give too much away but we’re going to be introducing lab-grown coloured gemstones soon, and I can’t wait for everyone to see that. I wanted to create something young and fresh, but also mature and timeless.”
