Alister Yiap first discovered his love of jewellery design when he was given a Swarovski pendant for his sixteenth birthday. His fascination with art, crystals and jewellery design hasn’t stopped since.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Jewellery Design from Curtin in 2007, Yiap’s graduate collection ‘Facet-nation’ prompted a slew of awards, media attention and invitations to exhibit.
Shortly after graduating, Yiap was showcased in one of Western Australia’s most important fashion fundraising events, STYLEAID, and has since been invited back as an established designer to judge the student category.
Yiap’s star has continued to rise, winning the Fine Details category of the Mercedes-Benz Western Australia Fashion Awards, invitations to multiple runway couture events, touring exhibitions of his work, and, most recently, designing the Key to the City of Perth.
The Key to the City of Perth was custom designed by Yiap out of Jarrah and silver-plated brass hardware. The geometric aesthetic of the key emulates digital pixels which Yiap says is “reminiscent of the digital age”. The City of Perth crest is used as an emblem, and simplistic, block letter Ps for Perth are cleverly designed into many components of the key design.
Mr Kerry Stokes AC was presented with the newly redesigned Key to the City of Perth for his strong commitment to media, entertainment and tireless support for charity and other worthy causes.
“The new [key] design is more in-keeping with our modern city, to truly reflect the contemporary city that Perth is today,” says Stokes.
The practice of presenting a city key to an individual can be traced back to medieval times, when admission into a city was hampered by many legal restrictions, high walls and locked gates. The key symbolised the freedom of the recipient to enter and leave the city at will, as a trusted friend of the city and its residents.
