Cast your mind back to Beyonce’s ‘XO’ video and you’ll remember she was pretty much exclusively decked out in gold jewellery. Only, she wasn’t just wearing any old jewellery. One piece in particular stood out from the pack – a rattlesnake-like bracelet wrapped around her wrist, devised by Colombian born journalist-turned designer, Paula Mendoza. As you would expect, the moment the video dropped, her phone didn’t stop ringing and just a few years in, she’s managed to amass the kind of cult following among editors and celebrities that many established brands could only dream of.
You might be thinking that the celebrity-endorsement made her trajectory easy. In many cases, that’s true. But Paula’s refreshingly honest that her journey hasn’t always been plain sailing. Long before the Beyoncé moment she attempted to move to New York from Washington to get her foot in the door. After six months, she was forced to head back and it was only after a second attempt to crack the Big Apple that things really began to change.
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In person, she’s just as bold and vivacious as her designs would have you believe. Stepping into her East Village apartment is pretty much a Pinterest board come to life – her coffee table is a thing of dreams, her windowsills are styled to the hilt with fashion tomes and her bedroom is full of inimitable touches and treasures she’s picked up on her travels that you just wouldn’t find anywhere else. When it comes to fashion, she’s hordes it just like the rest of us, although, she admits she’s become a lot more ruthless over the years and knows exactly what works for her. Besides owning and wearing pretty much every piece of jewellery she’s ever made (which makes for the best kind of jewellery collection, we say), she also has enough vintage pieces (picked up from the likes of Devorado in the East Village and Celia Darling in Paris) to fill a shop. True story. Here, she sheds light on the challenges of being a designer in a world obsessed with trends and why Diana Vreeland is her style hero.
I was a journalist long before I started designing. I studied communications at the Universidad Sergio Arboleda in Bogota but I later realised that journalism was not for me and went on to study sculpture and a course called, Jewellery as a Sculpture at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. Not long after that I travelled to Peru and learned about the filigree technique and how to work with certain metals. I had always made jewellery, even if it was for myself, so I always knew that it was my true passion. It took me studying journalism to realise that I loved jewellery enough to make it my life career. I feel like I was kind of born into design. My parents were both very artistic people; my dad was an architect and my mom was a painter, so art ran in our veins as kids.
It was a big jump, moving into design, but if I can give you one piece of advice, it’s that you have to take risks otherwise you’ll love your life not knowing; and there is nothing more daunting than the unknown. A great example is when I lived in Washington. I originally moved there to be with my ex-husband and that’s where I started creating a strong private clientele for my jewellery, selling to diplomats. I thought I was ready to take the risk and move to NYC and make it there, even though I wasn’t sure. When I arrived, I didn’t realise how expensive New York was to live and just how hard it was to contact people so I left and went back to Washington after six months. Taking that risk though is what allowed me to see that I was not ready at the time and that I needed to work harder. I went back to Washington, worked the hardest I’ve ever worked, wrote a business plan, and in three months I found an investor and was able to move back. Getting backing allows you not to be worried about things like rent and allows you to grow your business and have the time to create things instead of always having the need to survive at the back of your mind. That’s when everything changed. I’ve now been here for six years.
My pieces landed on Net-A-Porter because of Instagram. I push my Instagram like you have no idea. Just the jewellery. I don’t post if I’m having a nice drink, or something. And it has to be worn by me. If I put it on other people, my followers don’t respond. It’s a funny thing. But back to buyers: I also push a lot. I send emails, press releases; and I go to events. I’ve been super-intense with that. I try to do it in a way that’s not annoying, but I’m very … when I decide I want something, I am going to get it. So if I’m at a party and know the buyer is there, I’m going to get to the buyer and talk to him. I’m not afraid to be really annoying and send emails too – like, lots of emails!
Beyoncé wearing my bracelet in her XO video was all because of Instagram too – it really made me think about the power of social media today. Her stylist found my account and asked to loan some pieces. I didn’t know that it was for the video so when it came out, it was a big surprise! Next thing I knew, a lot of my friends and people on Instagram started tagging me on posts from Beyoncé’s video and that is kind of how everything happened. It made a huge impact on my brand and its growth and recognition. A celebrity like Beyoncé has such a great following, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to wear my designs. It definitely was a huge moment for my career.
My creative process always starts with an inspiration or feeling for the season. I create these mood board where I put down all my ideas, no matter how broad or specific – drawings, words, anything that can help me in my thought process. From that mood board, I proceed to actually drawings things on paper. These may not necessarily be the final product, but they’re always my starting point. Once the drawings are more finalised, I meet with my jewellers to discuss the possibilities of producing each piece. Renders are then formed for every piece and samples are produced for evaluation. Once the samples have been perfected, we then start planning our photo-shoot and our look book before diving straight into fashion week and market days where orders start being placed from different stores. My favourite part of the design process is the mood board stage and then seeing the samples for the first time. There’s something about the feeling of working so hard on designs on paper and renders and the finally seeing them in physical form for the first time – its definitely the most exciting part.
Her stylist found my account and asked to loan some pieces. I didn’t know that it was for the video so when it came out, it was a big surprise! Next thing I knew, a lot of my friends and people on Instagram started tagging me in posts from the video and that is kind of how everything happened. It made a huge impact…
My signature pieces are the Core Collection, which are my snake-like designs: the Galucus Necklace and the Nereus Bracelet are some of my most recognisable pieces. They’re the ones all PM fans have. I continue the core collection each season so people can always get their hands on those classics. You know, it is very hard as a designer to create each season something that is innovative and surprising while at the same time maintaining my aesthetic and signature look. I always try and evolve as a designer but maintain that Paula Mendoza factor because that is what I believe is what’s making my line successful. That timeless, bold factor is what I strive to always include – making women feel powerful and strong but feminine and classy all at the same time.
I always say that I hate the word ‘trends’ even though I work in a world that is all about trends. I just don’t like that word. If I’m ever ‘on trend’ it’s purely coincidental. If there happens to be a liking for big bracelets or big earrings one season, for example, people might say my pieces are on trend but that’s always been my aesthetic. The designs of my pieces will always be based on whatever was inspiring me that season rather than trying to follow the pack. I feel like that is probably why my designs have such a recognisable language. That doesn’t mean that I don’t look at what other people are doing – if I didn’t there wouldn’t be room for change and growth for me as a designer – but my ideas are never filtered by other’s designs. When I first started my line, I would always say that I was creating jewellery that would make a woman feel feminine but powerful at the same time – for a woman who is delicate but also bold.
My Colombian background definitely manifests itself in my work. The gold I use, for example, comes from Colombia. That’s why it’s a litter redder than other golds. All of the stones like raw emeralds are sourced in Colombia too. It’s so important to me to do that not only because Colombia is my roots; it is also a way to give back to my country, especially because I am a Colombian making it abroad and if I get the chance to represent my country in what I do and through my passion, what better way to do it.
ON STYLE
I’ve always had a style that’s been different to most of the people around me. I have a strong sense of pattern and colour and am always wearing risky combinations that a lot of people wouldn’t dare to wear. The uniqueness is what truly draws me to a piece. Colour attracts me too, especially earth colours. It has to be special. I make fewer mistakes than I used to because I know what I am comfortable with, what suits me and what goes together. I also think that I understand my body more than I ever have. Over the years I’ve truly developed a greater sense of who I am and how I want to express myself. Diana Vreeland undoubtedly had the biggest impact on my style purely because hers was absolutely unique and authentic – she was never afraid to show who she was, even though she looked like a crazy person sometimes. I really admire courage like that, to just be who you are. I think that fashion is a way to express yourself. Every time you dress you are telling a story to people who walk past or see you, even to yourself. Fashion shows what people in general are feeling and how they are approaching the reality around them, whether that’s the economy, music or art.
Some of my go to brands are Ellery, Rodarte, Prada, Esteban Cortazar and Simon Rocha. I also love to shop in vintage stores – one of my favourites is called Love Gang, and I’m always finding great pieces in Devorado in the East Village and Celia Darling in Paris too. I have a couple of treasures in my wardrobe but one that I am obsessed with right now is a vintage kimono that I got in Japan. When I travel, I always get hats from each place I visit. I really value them because they remind me of each adventure and country I’ve travelled to.