The Body as Ornament: An Interview with YVMIN

28/05/2025

By NOCTURA Magazine

In a soft-lit studio tucked in Beijing, the designers behind YVMIN—Yutong Wen and Min Li—speak about jewelry not as accessory, but as an extension of the body. Since founding their brand in 2013, YVMIN has transcended traditional notions of adornment, crafting pieces that blur the lines between fine jewelry, wearable art, and body modification. Their work has been worn by artists like Arca and featured in editorials for Vogue and Dazed, but their vision remains sharply their own.

NOCTURA: Your pieces often look like they belong to another species, or time. How do you describe the world YVMIN inhabits?

YUTONG: It’s somewhere between reality and fantasy. We’re inspired by science fiction, nature, medical tools… sometimes prosthetics. Jewelry for us is not just beautiful—it’s structural, psychological. It enhances, but also alters the body.

MIN: It’s about transformation. We want our work to feel like it could change you, even if subtly. A finger piece that shifts how you gesture, an earpiece that makes you aware of your own movement.

NOCTURA: Do you consider YVMIN a fashion brand or something more conceptual?

MIN: Both. We work with stylists and fashion houses, but our practice is more like design research. Our "Body Ornament" series, for example, came from a fascination with medical braces. We turned functional language into something sensual.

YUTONG: The body is our primary canvas. We think about the skin, the bone structure beneath, the intimacy of contact. That’s very different from how fashion treats clothing.

NOCTURA: Your aesthetics sit between delicate and unsettling. Is discomfort part of the design?

YUTONG: Sometimes. We like tension. A piece can be minimal, almost clinical, but still emotionally charged. There’s beauty in vulnerability.

NOCTURA: How does YVMIN speak to contemporary Chinese identity?

MIN: We’re part of a generation that’s in-between. Globalized but rooted. Our work reflects that ambiguity—not traditionally Chinese, but not Western mimicry either. We’re inventing a new language.

YUTONG: And we’ve always resisted the idea that Chinese design needs to look “oriental” to be valid. We’re interested in what’s next, not what’s expected.

NOCTURA: What’s next for YVMIN?

YUTONG: More collaborations—perhaps outside fashion. We’re also exploring movement and performance, how jewelry interacts with choreography. And always, we’re asking: what is the body allowed to be?