Meet the Female Duo Behind Harry Styles’ "Golden" Necklace
Long time friends and jewelry designers Cristy Mantilla and Duda Teixeira didn’t expect their brand, Éliou, to become an overnight Instagram sensation. Before they could even launch their jewelry collection in 2018, everything sold out. Friends and strangers immediately wanted to purchase their playful yet elegant jewels made of cowrie seashells, freshwater pearls, and colorful beads.
The Miami natives had already tested the entrepreneurial waters back in 2015, when at just 25 years old they started WPC Collective, a creative agency focused on set design, graphic design, photography, and styling. Three years later, the hands-on experience brought Mantilla and Teixeira to the realization of their lifelong dream—to create an accessory and jewelry line that could translate their devotion to the marine environment in which they grew up into contemporary designs made with natural materials.
Éliou's treasures are now also on the necks, wrists, and earlobes of fashion influencers, celebrities, and musicians of the likes of Harry Styles—whose stylist, Harry Lambert, had the jewelry duo customize a beaded necklace that read “golden” for the artist’s newly released music video of the same name. The brand's ocean-inspired jewelry pieces are all the rage on and off social media and its sales are skyrocketing day to day.
Here, L’OFFICIEL sits down with founders Mantilla and Teixeira to discuss all things Éliou, from the brand’s inception and the inspiration behind the collections, to its future in the digital landscape and pandemic-era.
L’OFFICIEL: What’s the story behind Éliou and where does the name come from?
Duda Teixeira: We have been best friends since we were seven years old and creative partners basically since then. Cristy and I worked as creative directors and stylists for over seven years and launched our own creative agency when Éliou came to life as, what was then, just a way to create jewelry and custom pieces for our photoshoots at the time. Our initial instinct was always to get crafty and bring our clients something exclusive and unique. After every shoot or project the question as to where it can be bought always arose.
Cristy Mantilla: Eventually, the questions were so frequent that it became clear to us that we needed to flip our career focus and let the jewelry “project” be the focus of our time, and so Éliou was born. Éliou is a word that we invented to feel like a made-up place that might be a small town on the coast of Italy, or the French Riviera. It’s a place that embodies the perfect vacation.
Duda Teixeira: Sometimes, we think of Éliou as a person too, someone who lives this lifestyle and embodies the spirit of the brand and grew up next to the ocean, like we did.
L’O: What inspires your season collections?
DT: It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what inspires our collections because our inspirations are drawn by so many little things. It usually stems from designing something we’d want to wear for ourselves and grows from there. We’ll also often get ideas for pieces while traveling and experiencing different cultures and colors, but one of my favorite pieces was literally born out of a thought I had once in the shower. Sometimes it’s just as simple as that.
CM: What’s creepy is that I had a similar idea for a piece that week I had planned to work on and when Duda got out of the shower and told me about a design she’d just thought of, I was like, “Okay, cool, glad we’re on the same page, again.” That’s genuinely just how it is. She’ll start with something and I’ll end it or vice versa. We’re inspired by each other's ideas and our designs are a huge blend of that. Growing up in Miami also meant that the ocean was our playground. Our first collection had a heavy seashell focus but so many different elements from nature inspire our pieces.
L’O: What are your favorite Éliou designs?
DT: The Corbin which was designed as an anklet, but can be wrapped in a bunch of different ways. I wear it everyday.
CM: The Juliette ring. I wear it on my pinky and it’s a classic piece that I never take off.
L’O: What do you attribute Éliou's overwhelming wave of success to?
CM: Oftentimes I think our previous experience of working for other brands to help visually express their ideas and cultivate their voice gave us the needed understanding to later build a brand for ourselves. When it came time to start our own brand it came easily and everything was a true extension of our own creative ideas that we got to 100 percent hone in on.
DT: I think a big part of it is also because we design first for ourselves and then later offer those designs to our customers. We hit the design table and start our process by incorporating practical, wearable, yet extraordinarily versatile pieces. I want options when shopping and I imagine you do too. We offer that flexibility by selling pieces you can mix and match and wear as you please.
L’O: What do you think makes your designs stand out in the presently oversaturated digital world?
CM: The digital world has always been a way for people to discover our brand and for us to discover other creatives making things that we admire. The world is rich with talent but at the end of the day we like to think there’s something appealing about the tactile nature of our designs. Our jewelry is made by hand by the team in our studio who makes everything to order. In a world where so much is digital, we think part of what makes us stand out is the feeling of receiving your Éliou piece and knowing that there’s no other that’s exactly like it.
DT: I always like to say that our pieces have a course of life before even leaving our studio. Each pearl or bead is hand picked, assembled with love and looked after multiple hands. I also believe a big part as to why our pieces stand out is because our designs are for everyone. We are putting you in the uncomfortable position of questioning if it was your grandmother, mom, or boyfriend who borrowed your piece and didn’t give it back. We don’t have a particular person in mind when we design. We just hope it makes you feel good when you wear it.
L’O: How do you see Éliou fitting into the current landscape of pandemic-era fashion?
DT: The versatility of our pieces has always been one of the highlights of our designs. Our sunglass chains, which now double as mask chains, let you hang your mask from your neck for easy access. We also launched an entire collection of merch intended to be enjoyed at home.
CM: All of the pieces are built for comfort, not for speed. Our sweatpants and oversized “Out of Office” sweatshirt can be worn to Zoom meetings, on grocery runs or even to bed. We won’t judge you if you wear the same outfit consecutively. That’s what we do.
L’O: What’s the story behind the new Memor x Éliou collaboration?
CM: This collection is part of an ongoing collaboration between Memor and Éliou. She is a female artist, which is really important for us to support, and we feel really connected with the work that she makes and the way that she’s able to incorporate both of our brands into these one-of-a-kind pieces. These collaborations use deadstock materials so it’s a true representation of both of our brands.
DT: There are so many artists whose work we feel aligned with and we would love to bring into the Éliou conversation in the future.
L’O: What can we expect from Éliou in the months to come?
DT: We’ve spent the last few months dabbling outside the realm of jewelry. We’ll keep the details vague for now but we can’t wait to have our pieces all over you.
