RABOBANK - GEM GUARDS

Gen-Z is more active than any generation before. Thing is they do it to their own terms.

What suffers unfortunately is traditional sports like hockey. With strict schedules, rules and its competitive nature, the freedom and self expression they desire gets stripped away little by little. So when the World Cup came around with the news that all jewellery had been banned from all competitions, it raised a big red flag.

Introducing Gem Guards:

In collaboration with dutch internationals Terrence Pieters and Frédérique Matla we wanted to bring back the sentimental things that define their identities to the one place left that we could, their mouth guards. We brought this idea to life with jewellery designer and craftsman who runs the prominent custom grillz label 187ams, Daniël Declercq and gem artist MILKY WAE. Ironically, we needed approval from the FIH themselves and so the crafting and placement of the custom pieces was essential and made possible by dentist Sarah Brinkman.

Inspired by the introduction of grillz themselves, Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes we shot a hype film with FRSHMN and photography with Olivia Grace. We told the full story in a making of film that brought it all to life.