Vancouver: 5 minutes with John Hardy creative director Guy Bedarida

Canadian designer John Hardy (johnhardy.com) founded his eponymous jewellery brand in 1989 after moving to Bali and falling in love with traditional Indonesian art. Today, Guy Bedarida is the company’s creative director—he’s previously designed for Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels. We sat down at Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew (737 Dunsmuir St., 604-681-3121, holtrenfrew.com).

Who is the John Hardy customer?
“She’s someone who likes sustainable luxury; fashion that respects people and the environment. She wants to enjoy beautiful things.”

Someone like Angela Lindvall, who stars in the company’s ad campaign?
“She’s a real woman. She’s 32, she has two beautiful kids, she’s very green. We became very good friends and even designed jewellery together—the Hijau collection is a collaboration with Angela.”

What else inspired you when you were designing your spring collection?
“Nature, definitely, especially since we had an interesting season. It rained a lot in Bali this year!”

Do you design any other collections?
“Cinta means ‘love’ in Balinese, and the Cinta collection was designed especially for the wife of Mr. Hardy—a different piece for each occasion. The entire collection is made with diamonds, rubies or very rare jade. This is really the haute couture collection of John Hardy.”

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