Transforming childhood things into grown-up bling
The new collaboration between contemporary Filipino designers Neil Felipp and Kelvin Morales coaxes the inner child to come out and play.Drawing from nostalgia for simpler times, the irresistible capsule collection reimagines jackstones—a beloved childhood game—as phenomenal fashion accessories.
The jacks first made an appearance in Morales’ “Dalaginding” 2023 collection as patchwork embroidery and embellishment. But upon visiting Felipp’s studio, where he saw the latter’s jewelry line, the idea for the “Jackstone” collection began to take shape.
The two have collaborated multiple times in the past, so working on their first capsule collection together felt “very natural,” according to Felipp, through whose visionary spectacles the normally cheap, colorful plastic counters received a grown-up makeover into sophisticated avant-garde jewelry and accents.
One of the most stunning pieces in the collection is the Jackstone Minaudiere in electric blue. The boxy hard-case evening bag inlaid with hand-dyed electric-blue parchment features a playful scattering of silver-plated jackstones around the opening. The materials used for the collection were locally sourced from Cebu, but Felipp (full name Neil Felipp San Pedro) revealed that they had to create a new dye recipe to come up with a specific sensational shade of blue for this particular piece.
“The color blue is one of the elements of my brand DNA. So when I do a collaboration, it has to be a color blue that is easy for my audience to recall,” said Morales.
Fun with fashion
The mother-of-pearl version of the minaudiere, with gold jacks, is gorgeous as well. But the chunky jewelry manages to be a refreshing combination of understated, whimsical yet edgy. This collection, Morales said, is for “individuals who appreciate art, exude confidence and cherish sharing stories from their childhood memories.”
“They know how to have fun with fashion,” Felipp said. “They are confident with themselves and they still cherish that inner child that would give color to this world.”
For Morales, jackstones are a reminder of his childhood and “those carefree days when we loved to play.” Felipp likewise remembered playing the game when he was younger, but doubted being any good at it. “I just really loved the design back then as a child.”
The star-shaped game pieces are indeed tantalizing but the notoriously pointy things have victimized many a body part long before Lego was invented. Felipp swore, however, that his creations won’t be as tricky to handle: “We have made the pointed parts blunt for you to hold.”
“We ensured everything is easy to carry and functional,” added Morales, saying how much he enjoyed “developing something new and blending ideas to create something exciting” with Felipp.
Felipp—who’s preparing for the launch of his boutique at Peninsula Manila in August—himself relished the playful nature of their collaboration. “From the design process to the actual pieces, it really felt that Kelvin and I were playing with toys and dress up.” INQ
