The Chain Link Movement by Fadia Al Zain
We have truly come so far – becoming women of the world. We carry our own achievements on our backs as well as the achievements of the women who came before us. When I sit back and think of the ways of the world, I can be proud to be a woman of today. Many great women have come and gone, but they’ve left us a legacy to carry on. We are motivated to keep going – to keep achieving – to keep empowering ourselves and those around us. Perhaps that’s the wonder in women – this natural yearning to look around and raise all women to the best they can be. Let’s be honest – there is bound to be competition, but it can be healthy – we need it in some form. The competition between one woman and another is an eternal fire that burns in each of us. It’s that fire that connects us. It keeps us yearning for even more success. But what is success to us as a gender? Is it to create a single achievement and stand in its light all alone? Is it to gain a position and begin to boss others around? NO!! In the world of women today, a new form of achievement has formed. It’s one of power; but a power that unites us – it boosts not just one of us but all of us. This unification is our very link, our CONNECTion to success – the success of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Of all the Bhansali collections, I feel most at home when I have my three-stranded chain bracelet – part of the CONNECT collection. As I sit in my office and look around, I see all the hard work that has come before mine within these four walls. I see this desk and all the successes that have piled on top of each other. I reach for my laptop, about to shoot out an email to my business partner. My business is the world of jewelry. Jewelry runs through my veins and is part of my family heritage. There are days where I feel that my destiny was to take part in what I do today. My partner and I believe in CONNECTing people; we believe in pulling others together and helping them rise to the top as we grow. We are a living example of this empowerment we share, the belief system we have created and cultivated, and the space we hold for others to fill. Yes, my world is jewelry, but it’s so much more than just the design, production or sale. I like to say that I CONNECT to people through cultivation, through creation, through beauty and through the stories each piece holds.
I look around again, this time fast enough to catch the glistening of the chains on my wrist that are reflected in the window next to me. I live my life and believe in the power to CONNECT.
The collection of CONNECT is inspired by the bold statements that began in the 80s. I am a child of the 80s, so it’s very likely that my adoration towards the collection is the very CONNECTion it gives me today with those moments of yesterday. If we didn’t use the past as our inspiration, how else would we know what road to take or how to grow towards the present and future? To me, this collection truly defines what it means to be a woman. It doesn’t merely reflect or define an era – it also defines a step in time. It represents what it means to be strong yet soft, to shine at exactly the right moment. The 80s can easily be seen as a pivotal moment for women around the world. That decade represented a change – a shift for women, who went from just being part of the world to actually running the world!
I will never forget the day I went home with my CONNECT bracelet. I knew that I was making an investment – an investment in myself but even more so, an investment in all the great women of the world who have gone before me.
About Fadia Al Zain
Fadia Al Zain is a curator of Jewellery & Design.
Fadia’s diversified skill-set and in-depth knowledge of the world of design, has enabled her to be part of the Jewellery world. She enjoys spending much of her time creating strong ties within the design industry that surrounds her in the Middle East as well as globally. From an early age, she found herself deeply fascinated with the fundamentals of jewellery design as well as a deep yearning to further develop her understanding of design’s history and origin.
She believes that every jewellery piece holds a story behind it, with carving and each setting of a stone- a layer uncovered of its very soul. Through her experience, she is able to bring these stories together, sharing her love for Jewellery and the secrets of its production.
Fadia is a graduate with a BA in Architectural and Interior Design from the New England School of Art and Design. She has produced many trunk shows within the Middle East; bringing together Designers regional as well as global under one roof.