YANG ZI BRINGS A NEW GENERATION OF CONFIDENCE TO POMELLATO’S NUDO

On 29 July 2026, Pomellato announced Chinese actress Yang Zi as its new Global Brand Ambassador, bringing together one of China’s most recognisable contemporary performers with a Milanese jewellery house known for its expressive approach to colour, form and craftsmanship. The appointment arrives with a campaign devoted to Nudo, one of Pomellato’s defining collections, photographed by the acclaimed Chinese photographer Chen Man.

The partnership is notable for the way it brings two distinct creative perspectives into dialogue. Yang Zi has built a substantial career across Chinese television and film, while Pomellato has developed a jewellery language rooted in Milanese design and an approach to fine jewellery that favours individuality over convention. Their collaboration begins with imagery that places colour and personality at the centre of the frame.

For Yang Zi, the campaign marks her first appearance for Pomellato in the role of Global Brand Ambassador. The Maison describes her qualities in terms of warmth, charisma and contemporary elegance, while her public image has increasingly encompassed both commercial influence and recognition for her acting. In 2026, she received the Magnolia Award for Best Actress at the Shanghai TV Festival for her work in The Tree of Life, adding another significant distinction to a career spanning more than two decades.

Rather than presenting jewellery simply as an accessory, the new campaign places emphasis on the relationship between the wearer and the pieces. This approach is particularly suited to Nudo, whose design vocabulary has long centred on coloured gemstones, softly rounded forms and an understated setting that allows the stone itself to command attention.

Introduced in 2001, Nudo became an important chapter in Pomellato’s history. The collection is distinguished by its clean, recognisable silhouette and emphasis on gemstones, allowing colour to become an integral part of the design rather than a secondary embellishment. Its versatility has helped establish Nudo as one of the Maison’s most recognisable collections, with pieces spanning rings, earrings and pendants.

In Chen Man’s campaign imagery, this chromatic quality takes on particular significance. The Chinese photographer is known for a visual language that combines fashion, portraiture and contemporary cultural references. Her work gives the collaboration a distinctly modern perspective, while the jewellery retains the tactile qualities associated with Pomellato’s Milanese craftsmanship.

The result is a campaign built around presence rather than excess. Nudo’s colour and rounded forms provide visual punctuation, while Yang Zi’s expression and styling keep the focus on individuality. The jewellery does not need to overwhelm the wearer; its character comes through the contrast between precious materials, vivid gemstones and the person wearing them.

That idea of personal expression is closely connected to Pomellato’s history. Founded in Milan in 1967 by entrepreneur Pino Rabolini, the Maison was established with the ambition of bringing the principles of prêt-à-porter into fine jewellery. Pomellato’s official history describes this as a response to changing ideas about women and their independence, introducing jewellery designed to be versatile, contemporary and expressive rather than reserved exclusively for ceremonial occasions.

The Milanese origin remains central to the brand. At Casa Pomellato in Milan, more than 150 artisans work with precious metals, diamonds and coloured gemstones, continuing the Maison’s emphasis on craftsmanship alongside experimentation. Rose gold has become one of its recognisable materials, while colour has remained an important part of its creative identity.

Pomellato’s heritage is also characterised by a willingness to reconsider familiar jewellery forms. Its own account of the Maison’s evolution points to the 1970s as a period when chains were transformed into sculptural elements, followed by further experimentation with volume and colour in subsequent decades. The recently presented Collezione 1967, for example, draws on three decades of this unconventional design vocabulary, translating archival influences into contemporary High Jewellery.

Against that history, the appointment of Yang Zi feels less like a departure from Pomellato’s identity than a continuation of its interest in women who express themselves on their own terms. The Maison’s language has consistently allowed jewellery to occupy an everyday relationship with its wearer, rather than being confined to formal occasions.

Yang Zi’s public persona brings that philosophy into a new cultural context. Her career has developed across genres and audiences, giving her a broad presence in contemporary Chinese popular culture. Her association with Pomellato also reflects the growing importance of Asian creative voices within the global luxury landscape. The appointment has been reported as the Maison’s first global ambassador role for an Asian woman, adding further significance to the collaboration.

The choice of Nudo for her debut is equally deliberate. The collection’s premise is relatively direct: take the gemstone out of the conventional framework of formal jewellery and allow its colour, shape and natural character to become the principal visual element. That simplicity creates room for interpretation, whether the jewellery is worn quietly or becomes the most vivid element of an ensemble.

Colour has always held an important place within Pomellato’s creative vocabulary. Its collections frequently use combinations of gemstones and precious metals to create pieces that feel expressive without relying solely on scale. Nudo extends this approach through a distinctive silhouette that can be recognised across different stones and colourways.

The collaboration with Chen Man adds another layer. As a photographer working within contemporary Chinese fashion and visual culture, her perspective gives the campaign a connection to the market from which Yang Zi emerged, while Pomellato’s Milanese identity remains clearly present. The resulting conversation is international without requiring either side to lose its character.

For Pomellato, the campaign therefore represents both continuity and expansion. The Maison remains anchored in Milan, where its jewellery is crafted, while its choice of Yang Zi places its contemporary vision within a broader global cultural landscape.

For Yang Zi, the partnership offers a different form of expression from the screen. Jewellery becomes part of the visual language through which she is presented: colourful, assured and distinctly individual. Nudo, with its emphasis on the gemstone itself, provides a natural medium for that message.

The significance of the collaboration ultimately lies in its balance. Pomellato brings nearly six decades of Milanese jewellery heritage; Yang Zi brings a contemporary Chinese perspective shaped by an evolving career in entertainment and culture; Chen Man frames the meeting through a distinctly modern photographic lens. Together, they create an image of luxury that is less concerned with ceremony than with character.

In the new campaign, the jewel remains precious, but it is personality that gives it direction. That distinction feels particularly relevant to Pomellato’s continuing evolution: jewellery is not presented as something that defines the woman wearing it, but as something that can accompany her while she defines herself.

Imagery is used for editorial and illustrative purposes. All image rights remain with their respective owners, brands, photographers and agencies.