Imet jewelry designer Yezi Zhou in her dedicated space within Shanghai’s Room Room showroom, during Shanghai Fashion Week (SHFW). She and her business partner, fellow designer Ke Li, are fresh from a trip to Georgia and Armenia. They love to travel, which is perhaps why, despite being raised in China’s Zhejiang and Heilongjiang province, respectively, their jewelry brands are named after Italian food: Olio e Aceto and Sale e Pepe.

Olio e Aceto — the first label, launched in 2019 — built a steady client base for its classic silver and pearl pieces, with 30 stockists across China and Europe. But last year, the founders noticed a shift in what local jewelry buyers and consumers were looking for. They decided to launch Sale e Pepe, which swapped Olio e Aceto’s chunky silhouettes for dainty,

See Full Page