9 Designers Who’re Redefining Contemporary Jewellery | Verve Magazine
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Fashion
October 01, 2018

9 Designers Who’re Redefining Contemporary Jewellery

Text by Shubham Ladha

From antique adornments to biodegradable baubles, a new crop of labels are marking their mettle

Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but now jewellery is taking up unconventional forms. Contemporary conceptual creators are breaking the (gold) mould by using alternative resources and eclectic techniques to make ornaments that not only stand out but expound the boundaries of experimental and wearable art. We list a handful and tell you what’s new about them:

Absynthe

Having studied at NIFT Hyderabad, Abhisek Basak began putting together vintage watch and typewriter parts such as gears and cogs as a hobby to curb his stress. His tribute to this age took fruition in the forms of jewellery that look like they’re made just for fans of science-fiction’s steampunk genre.

Baby Baniya

After training as a jewellery designer at the London Metropolitan University, Meha Gupta took inspiration from the various indigenous crafts from around the country and world, such as Rajasthan’s miniature paintings, wooden parrots from the Philippines and many more. Upon combining them with everyday objects such as wires and cycle parts through techniques of resin embedding, embroidery, beading et al, Gupta’s managed to make a whimsical niche for herself; a modern interpretation of Indian folk art.

Chicory Chai

A graduate of Milan’s Creative Academy, Himani Grover crafts metallic jewellery that echoes the philosophy of handcrafting over mechanisation. Each piece carries with itself its own unique ‘imperfections’ such as marks, raw edges, solders or dents, that are her signature style. What stands out is how she’s able to incorporate vintage coins as a part of Chicory Chai’s aesthetic, proving that any object can become an heirloom piece and carries value.

Greytone

From being a full-time interior designer to venturing into jewellery design, Aditi Sharma has carried her love for concrete seamlessly over onto the other side. Inspired by architecture, the geometric jewellery is accented with metal, giving it an understated and modern edge.

Krithaa

Based out of Ahmedabad, Kritha — an architecture student — started out by making jewellery for herself out of undefined discarded metal wastes such as screws, bolts, nuts, hinges et al. The craft took on its own niche form as she kept collecting junk from across the city, lending to each a piece a story of origin.

Madiha Jaipur and Satat

Delving into a strong iteration of sustainability, Madiha Jaipur and Satat craft jewellery out of wood. Meaning ‘praiseworthy’ in Arabic, Madiha Jaipur — by Krati Akar and Vaishali Kedia — impart the ideal to every woman with their wooden jewellery accented with semiprecious stones in uncut forms. Satat’s timeless and simple designs enhance their philosophy of living a more holistic life and leaving behind less carbon footprints.

Maya Bazaar

Using fabrics as a mainstay in its collections, Maya Bazaar is reinventing old techniques of crochet, thread-work and charakkam, for contemporary times and styles. Along with metals and semiprecious and uncut stones, vegetable dyed silk and cotton yarn are uniquely incorporated in her designs to make unique statements.

Miranika and Razia Kunj

Bringing art out of the confines of canvases, Miranika and Razia Kunj bring together two distinct art forms as one. With the handiwork of a variety of Indian artists, Miranika miniaturises murals to fit delicate pieces of jewellery, be it that they represent an abstract art movement or borrow inspiration from the natural elements. Razia Kunj, on the other hand, crafts wooden jewellery that’s painted with inspiration from Indian folklore and tribal art. There’s an inherent ingeniousness to its pieces which tell the story of India’s spiritual culture.

Riddhika Jesrani

An alumnus of Parson’s School of Design, Riddhika Jesrani’s designed India’s first 3D printed and biodegradable line of jewellery. Through her collection, ‘Dance of a Leaf’, Jesrani crafts an ode to nature in forms of flora, embedded with organic textures and hand-painted forms.

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