Between innovation and tradition, COEXIT, the latest proposal of the firm Rocío Soria de Vaya, aims to represent an ideal world where artificial products serve nature. With the objective of giving jewelry a new role and, rather than just complementing it, becoming just as important as any style-specific clothing boutique comes the firm DEvaya by Rocío Soria de Vaya.
Your constant thirst for learning could bring you to any field of fashion. Why did you decide on jewelry?
When I started out in the design world, I experimented with initially unconventional materials. For example, my first collection prêt-a-porter introduced porcelain and silver in garments. Working with these materials piqued my interests and I decided to experiment with jewelry, leaving behind textiles momentarily. We’re set up to launch this new line of high-end jewelry, but we don’t want to only be a jewelry brand.
This year, 2018, you created your own brand DEvaya. Where does the name come from?
DEvaya is my mother’s last name. We wish to establish our own firm and that is what drives us. The brand is like us, so what better name is there to give it than ours.
How do your Andalusian roots influence your collections?
You should let your roots grow. I believe that Spain has a very rich culture and one must know how to take advantage of that. In my designs, I always present a union between tradition, artisan, and no-rush fabrication along with the reality, the tendencies, the innovation. The fusion comes in an instinctive form. In jewelry, the large pieces are my weakness; a complement that only a woman would wear. Growing up with flamenco, the fair, and all else Andalusian clearly influenced the designs of our first collection. It’s all stored in the mind from years of experiences that, once I start designing, comes out naturally.
None of your designs are produced in a series. Each piece is unique and hand-made with high-quality materials. How important is the exclusivity of your jewelry to you?
There are no two people alike in the world. Every person is unique and special; what we wear should make us feel that way. Feeling special is very important. For that reason, we pamper every piece.
Regarding your creative process, what inspires you the most when it becomes time to design? What are your references?
I get inspiration from any other thing, but there is a phrase from Rei Kawakubo that set the framework for me when I design: “For something to contain beauty, it does not need to be beautiful”.
How do you combine innovation with tradition?
The innovation is in the design. I start off by collecting information, ideas, inspirations and every type of moldable material that I create forms with. Once the design is finished, an artisan jeweler brings the design to life with natural materials like silver and gold. In this collection, we have not used alloys.
You talk about giving a new role to jewelry. What would it be and how do you come by it?
Yes, we want jewelry to turn into the primary piece of any look & style. Normally, stores take away a lot of attention from jewelry; we want to give jewelry the attention they deserve.
You also look forward to creating “smart” jewelry collections. How do you achieve making a jewelry piece that stimulates your mind?
By creating the collection underneath a philosophical message. We will create designs that propose new realities and do not go unnoticed alongside other brands of jewelry.
In your first collection COEXIT, you aim to reinvigorate nature’s presence in an increasingly artificial world. Tell us a little about that.
I believe that innovation, technological advancements, and progress should serve nature; we shouldn’t be destroying it like we are right now. We owe everything to Earth. With COEXIST, we want to represent an ideal world where artificial products live in harmony with nature. I wish this ideal world turns into reality. With this campaign, Ana López Calero became the new creativity director of DEvaya.
What inspired your logo? What image do you wish to portray?
In Ana, I found my other half. We complement each other very well. She has wonderful ideas and we match each other in everything we give to the firm: time, effort, dreams… Our passion grew because of that. Although we both have outside work, we see DEvaya as an escape valve that accommodates our wildest imaginations. When I’m coming up with new design ideas, she is on the same page, thinking about how to show it to the world and sometimes even passing ahead of me. Ana gives DEvaya what any modern brand needs, creativity and surprise. We want DEvaya to be a brand that portrays strength, unconformity, personality, and beauty. All of that with a touch of fun. Ana inspired the collection’s earrings for the campaign’s image, that union between nature and the man-made world. Our objective is to surprise with every collection, both in our designs and campaigns. We want our followers to wonder what we will make next.
Do you have new projects on your mind?
Maybe in other fields that aren’t jewelry, yes, we have a lot of collections and projects on our minds. However, Ana and I vowed to wait for DEvaya to become more well-known before we start to develop them.
