HEFANG AWARD In Collaboration with Central Saint Martins
Jewelry, at its most meaningful, is more than adornment. It is a vessel for emotion, memory, and cultural resonance. Yet many emerging design voices are still searching for a space to be truly heard.
In 2025, HEFANG established the HEFANG Award — a long-term initiative dedicated to supporting the next generation of jewelry designers and fostering cross-cultural creative dialogue.
The inaugural HEFANG Award was launched in collaboration with Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, the alma mater of HEFANG Jewelry founder Sun Hefang. Through this partnership, HEFANG became the first Chinese designer jewelry brand to initiate an in-depth academic collaboration with the BA Jewellery Design programme, opening a meaningful exchange between industry and education, between London and China.
From Student to Founder
In 2005, Sun Hefang began her studies at Central Saint Martins. During her time there, she participated in projects hosted by internationally renowned houses such as Cartier and Swarovski, experiences that shaped her early understanding of craftsmanship, global vision, and brand building.
At just twenty years old, she made a quiet promise to herself. One day, she would build her own namesake jewelry brand and return to her alma mater in its name to create something meaningful for future generations.
Twenty years later, that promise came full circle. In 2025, Sun returned to Central Saint Martins not as a student, but as a founder, launching the HEFANG Award in partnership with the institution that shaped her beginnings.
A City as Creative Brief
The HEFANG Award invited students to respond to a single theme: “London.”For HEFANG, London is a city layered with historical depth and contemporary vitality — a place where tradition and reinvention coexist. The brief encouraged participants to engage with the city’s architecture, atmosphere, rituals, and lived realities, transforming observation into wearable narrative.
The project received 50 submissions. Inspirations ranged from reinterpretations of historical monuments to reflections drawn from daily urban life. Together, they demonstrated how jewelry can function as a language for examining culture, memory, and social experience.
Awarded Designers
Keira Cowley | Certificate of Design Achievement Winning Work: Grasp of Glutton
Inspired by the gilded statue at Pye Corner, historically associated with a warning against excess following the Great Fire of London, Cowley explores themes of desire and consumer culture. By assembling fork forms to encase and restrict the hand, the piece removes functionality, transforming adornment into commentary. Jewelry becomes both object and critique, questioning consumption while embodying it.
Pamela Hall | Certificate of Design Achievement Winning Work: Prima Donna
Drawing from London’s opera houses and theatrical heritage, Hall created a cohesive series infused with drama and stage presence. Inspired by red velvet interiors, gilded ornamentation, and performance culture, the collection invites the wearer into the spotlight, embodying confidence, admiration, and expressive individuality.
Bohai Hu | Honorable Spotlight Winning Work: In the Rain
Reflecting on London’s frequent rain and the quiet composure of those who live within it, Hu transforms weather into metaphor. Rain becomes a symbol of life’s varied experiences, while the wearer stands as a figure of resilience, moving forward with elegance and strength. The work celebrates the contemporary spirit of women who meet uncertainty with confidence.
Rooted in everyday life, these works reflect both careful observation and a new generation of thinking. Today’s emerging designers no longer wait for inspiration to arrive. Instead, they step into the streets of London, observing people, sensing the rhythm of the city, and responding to its ever changing atmosphere. What is real becomes their starting point. Moments, emotions, and encounters are transformed into pieces that tell stories, designed not only to be seen, but to be worn.
Beyond Competition: A Cultural Dialogue
The HEFANG Award extends beyond recognition. It reflects a broader vision that connects education, industry, and cross cultural creativity. During the collaboration, Sun Hefang returned to Central Saint Martins to speak with students, sharing insights from her journey from student to founder. She encouraged them to explore boldly, remain curious, and take action.
The partnership also marked a significant milestone. HEFANG’s iconic Tea Time Collection was permanently acquired by the Museum of Central Saint Martins. First introduced in 2014, the Tea Time Collection reimagines dining rituals and tableware as wearable art, transforming everyday objects into poetic adornment. Its inclusion in the museum’s permanent archive signals not only institutional recognition, but also the growing presence of Chinese design within global contemporary discourse.
Looking Forward
From London outward, the HEFANG Award establishes an open, international platform for creative dialogue. The HEFANG Award is not simply a project. It marks the beginning of an enduring cultural exchange, where stories travel across borders, perspectives evolve, and new design narratives continue to unfold.
HEFANG AWARD In Collaboration with Central Saint Martins
Jewelry, at its most meaningful, is more than adornment. It is a vessel for emotion, memory, and cultural resonance. Yet many emerging design voices are still searching for a space to be truly heard.
In 2025, HEFANG established the HEFANG Award — a long-term initiative dedicated to supporting the next generation of jewelry designers and fostering cross-cultural creative dialogue.
The inaugural HEFANG Award was launched in collaboration with Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, the alma mater of HEFANG Jewelry founder Sun Hefang. Through this partnership, HEFANG became the first Chinese designer jewelry brand to initiate an in-depth academic collaboration with the BA Jewellery Design programme, opening a meaningful exchange between industry and education, between London and China.
From Student to Founder
In 2005, Sun Hefang began her studies at Central Saint Martins. During her time there, she participated in projects hosted by internationally renowned houses such as Cartier and Swarovski, experiences that shaped her early understanding of craftsmanship, global vision, and brand building.
At just twenty years old, she made a quiet promise to herself. One day, she would build her own namesake jewelry brand and return to her alma mater in its name to create something meaningful for future generations.
Twenty years later, that promise came full circle. In 2025, Sun returned to Central Saint Martins not as a student, but as a founder, launching the HEFANG Award in partnership with the institution that shaped her beginnings.
A City as Creative Brief
The HEFANG Award invited students to respond to a single theme: “London.” For HEFANG, London is a city layered with historical depth and contemporary vitality — a place where tradition and reinvention coexist. The brief encouraged participants to engage with the city’s architecture, atmosphere, rituals, and lived realities, transforming observation into wearable narrative.
The project received 50 submissions. Inspirations ranged from reinterpretations of historical monuments to reflections drawn from daily urban life. Together, they demonstrated how jewelry can function as a language for examining culture, memory, and social experience.
Awarded Designers
Winning Work: Grasp of Glutton
Inspired by the gilded statue at Pye Corner, historically associated with a warning against excess following the Great Fire of London, Cowley explores themes of desire and consumer culture. By assembling fork forms to encase and restrict the hand, the piece removes functionality, transforming adornment into commentary. Jewelry becomes both object and critique, questioning consumption while embodying it.
Winning Work: Prima Donna
Drawing from London’s opera houses and theatrical heritage, Hall created a cohesive series infused with drama and stage presence. Inspired by red velvet interiors, gilded ornamentation, and performance culture, the collection invites the wearer into the spotlight, embodying confidence, admiration, and expressive individuality.
Winning Work: In the Rain
Reflecting on London’s frequent rain and the quiet composure of those who live within it, Hu transforms weather into metaphor. Rain becomes a symbol of life’s varied experiences, while the wearer stands as a figure of resilience, moving forward with elegance and strength. The work celebrates the contemporary spirit of women who meet uncertainty with confidence.
Rooted in everyday life, these works reflect both careful observation and a new generation of thinking. Today’s emerging designers no longer wait for inspiration to arrive. Instead, they step into the streets of London, observing people, sensing the rhythm of the city, and responding to its ever changing atmosphere. What is real becomes their starting point. Moments, emotions, and encounters are transformed into pieces that tell stories, designed not only to be seen, but to be worn.
Beyond Competition: A Cultural Dialogue
The HEFANG Award extends beyond recognition. It reflects a broader vision that connects education, industry, and cross cultural creativity. During the collaboration, Sun Hefang returned to Central Saint Martins to speak with students, sharing insights from her journey from student to founder. She encouraged them to explore boldly, remain curious, and take action.
The partnership also marked a significant milestone. HEFANG’s iconic Tea Time Collection was permanently acquired by the Museum of Central Saint Martins. First introduced in 2014, the Tea Time Collection reimagines dining rituals and tableware as wearable art, transforming everyday objects into poetic adornment. Its inclusion in the museum’s permanent archive signals not only institutional recognition, but also the growing presence of Chinese design within global contemporary discourse.
Looking Forward
From London outward, the HEFANG Award establishes an open, international platform for creative dialogue. The HEFANG Award is not simply a project. It marks the beginning of an enduring cultural exchange, where stories travel across borders, perspectives evolve, and new design narratives continue to unfold.
The story has only just begun.