John Ferdinand

 

It's stylish and modern, geared not only for the top executive but for any regular guy who is in touch with fashion and design. John Ferdinand is a new brand that takes men's fashion to a whole new level. "Jewelry plays a fascinating role in our lives. It connects us with meaning. It’s a talisman, a reminder of a time in our lives, a mood, a place, or a person. It grounds us and makes us whole, harmonizing our modern nomadic lives." Next Model Men welcomes Mark Armstrong, together with Perry, they are behind the stylish brand for the modern guy, John Ferdinand. Join us in an exclusive interview with Mark as he talks about his concept of design and their brand John Ferdinand. Premiering in the Blogosphere's Most Admired Modeling Blogazine, Next Model Men, John Ferdinand is NEXT.

Next Model Men, beyond Modeling. Fashion. Design

Patric: "Who is the John Ferdinand customer?"

Mark: "About 50% of our customers are women.. which is interesting because most of our design direction is towards men.. so the customer base is turning out to be more unisex that we had anticipated. I have some lesbian friends who adore what we are doing. Some others are gay men,and a heavy dose of metrosexuals. Overall, most are foreign educated,successful professionals in their mid 30s. They really buy into ourvision for the brand and are hugely loyal. They're really following us and want to see us succeed. We have some customers in the US, UK, Hong Kong and China but about 50% of them are all here in Hong Kong."

Patric: "I'm curious, how did you come up with the name of the brand?"

Mark: "About a year and half ago, along with my partner Perry, we decided there was a need for a great stylish contemporary gear for men. We had loads of ideas and no formal design training. Perry is Indonesian and is a trained industrial engineer, who is really an artist at heart. He is great with colour and texture and materials. The brand 'John Ferdinand' is actually two names, our middle names combined. I am the 'John' and Perry is the 'Ferdinand'. We were trying to figure out a name for the business and though this one sounded great..exotic.. so it kinda stuck. We were lucky to meet a famous jeweller designer visiting Hong Kong and went to a workshop with him and he really inspired us to be different and to follow our dreams."

Patric: "What's the story behind the Passion Cufflinks?"

Mark: "They're our top selling item. Fab. I have a banker friend who wears them in the office and gets people stopping him in the hallway to ask him where they're from. Its like a droplet of water in shape..sterling silver inlaid with ebony. I wanted to do something very simple yet striking. Most cufflinks are more regular or geometric inshape. I drew the Devotion pendant first and then thought about how to extend that to the rest of a collection, so then the cufflink version of the pendant took shape on paper. When the creative juices are really flowing its amazing how fast these concepts pop out...while at other times you struggle for ages to come up with something which will work across a whole collection. Its easy to design one-off pieces.. doing a whole collection is a lot harder."

Patric:"You have one bracelet that I found really interesting and stylish, tell us more about that Halcyon product?"

Mark: "Ahh yes.. this is our favorite piece. Its a silver panel inlaid with ebony or mother of pearl, which is then threaded onto a gorgeous nappa leather bracelet with a silver buckle. Then there's another layer of leather which has python skin, or perhaps silk or other material. The pieces are done in very small runs of 10-20 per style. The idea was to create a modern day treasure, like something you might unearth in your attic. It's a bit like an old watch. We designed the piece for men but, interestingly, I think we've only sold one to a man.. most have been bought by women. I know several women who wear it everyday and refuse to take it off. I drew the initial concept in Bali and handed it to my guy there and said can you do something like this? He tinkered with it and pulled in a friend who had more leather experience and she handmade the first samples and we were just blown away with the final design. It's a really striking piece and quite different to anything else out there. I guess the inspiration was watch design and leather arm bands."

Patric: "Your source of inspiration?"

Mark: "I guess travel is the most inspiring thing for me. I'm really inspired by both the urban landscapes and architecture around me in Hong Kong, and the sights I see during travel in Bali and elsewhere in Asia. I get inspired by all sorts of things. songs, movies, books, photographs in travel magazines. I have a sort of whimsical eye for what is around me. And it's the designer's job to synthesize that observation of life into a design. The dreamer collection designs came while I was sitting in a cafe in Hong Kong, gazing out the window. I was inspired by the droplets of water my glass was making on the table, and then that reminded me of whitewater rafting in Bali, and I quickly sketched the pieces. The final form is very close to the original concept. I also get inspired by materials. I have a great supplier for exotic leather in Hong Kong and every trip to their showroom just blows my mind and I come away with way too many ideas than energy to execute on them."

Patric: "What makes Mark smile at the end of the day?"

Mark: "I love meeting our customers and listening to them. Having someone buy your design is really heartwarming as there's a story to it. Someone buying something for their lover, or to remember their time in Hong Kong for example. Jewelry is really emotional.. every piece tells a story to the wearer. People are buying an emotion or a memory, not a trinket."

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Next Model Men. Beyond Modeling. Fashion. Design.