Now get designer jewellery
Fashion designers are moving out of their comfort zone of couture and extending themselves by creating fabulous jewellery
Surekha Kadapa-Bose

A model wearing Manish Malhotra earrings A model wears jewellery designs by Maheka Mirpuri A pair of chandelier earrings with 56 diamonds by Manish Malhotra A Maheka Mirpuri cuff An elaborate Tarun Tahiliani design A silver Amrapali astral bangle by Manish Arora

AS you plan to buy your festive wear or trousseau from big designers this festive and wedding season, enjoy the added benefit of selecting a bracelet by Anita Dongre, a Manish Malhotra earring or a necklace by Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Unwilling to limit their creativity just to couture, fashion designers are now lending their creative touch to the jewellery. Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Anita Dongre, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Raghavendra Rathore, Shaina N.C., Maheka Mirpuri, James Ferriera et al are top-rung fashion designers,who are now creating designs in precious metals and stones.

Generally designers limit themselves to designing clothes while sourcing accessories, especially jewellery, to
compliment their dresses from like-minded jewellery makers. Most of the time fashion designers fall back on jewellery houses to give them the kind of accessories they want. However, when one has been on the top rung for ages, it is but natural to start diversifying. Some fashion designers like J. J. Valya, Sabyasachi and few others have even ventured into home furnishing and d`E9cor. Designing jewellery seemed like a logical progression.

Explaining about tackling a new medium, designer Anita Dongre who has been in this field for nearly two decades and is known for brands like AND, Global Desi, says, "I love designing. Period. It is the most rejuvenating experience for me. So, while the designing aspect of the jewellery business came naturally to me, it was the technicalities and manufacturing processes that I needed training in, and that’s where jewellery designer Pradeep Jethani of Jet Gems helped me. So it’s a fitting synergy. I think the precision in design, the quality, and the design aesthetics are, common to both jewellery and fashion design.’’ And that is how her new handcrafted bespoke gold and silver jewellery line Pinkcity was born. Studded with diamonds and also in jadau she offers an entire jewellery line.

Known for his quirky designs, Manish Arora and his eponymous label has collaborated for clothes with French fashion house Paco Rabanne, Reebok, Swatch, MAC and Swarovski. He has now also collaborated with Jaipur-based Amrapali Jewels. Arora prefers to design in white and gold-plated silver. — Actors like Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Sonam Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, and others sport his pieces on and off screen.

Another top-rung designer Manish Malhotra, who has dressed up actors like Kareena Kapoor, Kajol, Preity Zinta, Deepika, Sonam and Shah Rukh Khan, has tied up with Forever, the diamond brand with De Beers group. Planning to showcase the culture and heritage of India he has designed chandelier earrings with 56 diamonds for this season. Ditto with Maheka Mirpuri and James Ferriera. They have teamed up with Gautam Ghanasingh, the creative director of Ghanasingh Be True Jewellery House. Says Gautam, "Every fashion designer has a unique style and wisdom to which a jewellery brand collaborates with. Designers are inspiring in their own exclusive way and we would love to work together with them." And keeping in mind the festival and wedding season, they are offering a whole new range of designer jewellery.

In fact, fashion designer branching out into jewellery designing isn’t a new phenomenon at all. In West, almost every designer and fashion house have a jewellery line and other accessories like footwear and bags in their collection. Be it Alexander McQueen, Balmain, Dolce and Gabbana, Saint Laurent and other famous fashion houses. And they do not restrict it to festive or special occasion wear. They also offer funky or fusion jewellery.

As it is still in a nascent stage, Indian designers are into high-end jewellery only — silver, gold, diamonds, studded stones etc. Most of them, except, of course, for Manish Arora, are concentrating only on bridal, festive or special-occasion jewellery pieces. As a result these are totally highend pieces. A Tarun Tahiliani designed jewellery piece will only be for a special occasion where as one can flaunt a McQueen’s bracelet or cuff at casual events too.

Tarun, known for his exotic collections and unique bridal wear with heavy zari, crystal embroidery and studded work, has collaborated with Azva brand. He says, "There is nothing that adds royalty and glamour to a design like gold. And as we have a bridal range in garments, designing gold jewellery to complement this was a natural progression. We have carried same technique that we use to design our garments and applied it to the jewellery range. This is a contemporary collection, which will appeal to the modern Indian woman."

Most couture designers are singing the tune that fashion and lifestyle go together wonderfully and jewellery design has the potential to link them together. They feel there’s lots of room to experiment in the new found field and they are confident of success. Maheka, whose clothes and jewellery are flaunted by Bollywood stars like Sonakshi Sinha, Parineeti Chopra, Karisma Kapoor, Sridevi, Bipasha Basu and others, says, "Being a creative person jewellery designing offered me a new canvas to express my creativity. It’s a new challenge and I am confident. It's a huge drive and I am constantly trying to better my previous achievement. It’s exhilarating and gives me an adrenaline rush to tread a path that I haven’t ventured into before." It’s a symbiotic relationship with the jewellery houses that they team up with. It helps the designs. A fresh new idea is always welcomed and they find it exciting to work around it. As Gautum admitted, "Though marketing is not the primary agenda, it eventually becomes an aspect of the association!" After their success and passion in this new found love and all of them being leading fashion designers, its’ very likely that the next generation designers too might follow suit and fashion designers turning into jewellery designers will be the new trend in the coming times. It depends on their passion and point of focus. But if they do follow suit then every fashion house will be a one stop destination for complete dressing.