It only warms up our hearts when we see young independent designers out there creating amazing sh*t, producing, hustling. And when the new MELT Jewellery campaign ‘Blancmange’ was shared around the Culted office, we all gasped with excitement. This campaign is sick.
The brand’s new video campaign features French pastry chef Bertrand Kerleo – currently head baker at Arapina in London – and sees him being active in his natural habitat: the kitchen. The video is intense, capturing Kerleo’s raw energy and the tense environment of a professional kitchen, while also delicately showcasing the wonderful creations by MELT designer Prachi Jain.
“With all my campaigns I want to tell a story,” Jain says. “I don’t just want to sell jewellery, it’s about trying to feel and connect with what you wear. This campaign is my love letter to artists who dedicate their lives to creating these masterpieces that we taste, feel and experience.”
The campaign is not only organic in its expression, but also in the way that it came about. Jain noticed Kerleo on the tube one day: “I was already conceptualising a collection based on the culinary world (it’s one of my obsessions) and then one day I just saw Bertrand on the tube reading a newspaper. He just had a very peculiar look. His mannerisms, his face and just everything were so intriguing. I went and asked him if he’d like to be in my next campaign.”
She adds: “It was the very first time I went up to a stranger to talk to him. Later, I realised that he’s a pastry chef.” Jain’s vision manifested. “This was August 2023. It took us a whole year of work to build this campaign together.”
These kinds of coincidences happen to be a huge part of MELT’s journey as things in Jain’s career just naturally fall into place. Jain started out as a womenswear designer, but then decided to pivot: “I realised it wasn’t for me. Frustrated, I applied for a retail position with a fine jewellery brand at Harrods and, to my surprise, the brand’s creative director asked me to design the first men’s collection. I had no experience in jewellery at the time – but in that moment I was like ‘I can do this.’”
Jain only works with sterling silver, melting it into abstract shapes and pairing it with natural crystals and gemstones. “I have a natural attraction towards crystals,” she says. “I just find them beautiful. The imperfections and the inclusions, it all gives a certain character. I find a new favourite with every new collection.” Her current favourite? Rutilite. A smoked quartz which promotes spiritual growth.
Jain’s crystal craze comes from a combination of different things. She was surrounded by beautiful South Asian traditional jewellery while growing up. Her father used to collect interesting rocks on the beach. She would get lost in books about Cartier’s history in India. And when she started her career in jewellery, she got consumed in the world of gemstones.
Her South Asian heritage is also very much present in the process of her jewellery-making. “I work with amazing craftsmen from India who have specialised in this craft for over 20 years. They have such beautiful, genuine hearts – they’re almost family to me at this point. As in we literally butt heads in the process like a family.”
She adds: “Working with these craftsmen, providing their families with a source of living and seeing them happy is my way of giving back to my community. And reconnecting with my culture.”
Jain’s slow processes of working with small artisans and using natural resources, highlight the brand’s environmentally conscious ethos. “As designers, it’s our responsibility to integrate [sustainablility] in our DNA from the start, and come up with innovative solutions.” She explains that as a small brand it is fairly easy to control what you produce, especially when you’re working with smaller quantities.
“Our second collection, The Custom Shop, is a completely customisable concept of wearing jewellery with over 100 combinations.” She goes on to explain that you can switch elements on your own piece – “so you’d never get bored of a single piece and throw it away”. She adds: “It’s also great for someone who likes to collect crystals, like me.”
As for the future? Jain envisions a wider accessories brand: “a brand that designs anything and everything but clothes”.
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