Considering the number of jewellery designers in our country today, the crucial question designers should be asking themselves is how different their work is. Three young designers, Fanny Boucher, Purvi Sanghvi and Sonal Sood have an answer to that. They use materials and have design aesthetics that guarantee second looks - vibrant tassels, colourful rubber tiles knitted together and an effortless melange of steel and thread. “People still think twice to buy jewellery made from rubber and instead, choose something more precious. But I believe the trend is slowly changing,” says Sanghvi, the Mumbai-based designer behind the label, The Other Side, launched last January.
Metal to material
Sonal Sood and Anupama Sukh Lalvani, the duo behind the five-year-old En Inde, work on grungy statement pieces which marry steel and thread effortlessly. “Each piece has a mixture of contrasting materials - stainless steel, shell, and antique silver,” offers Sood. Boucher, the French designer, fell in love with Jaipur on her very first visit in 2004. Two years later she made it her home and launched Honorine Jewels. The designer’s bracelets, made with marble beads, look refreshing with colourful tassels. “For my new collection, Tasselmania, I’ve used tassels and infused them with colours like sea green, hot pink and marigold,” she offers.
The story behind Sanghvi’s recent collection, Spirit, goes back to her time at the London Metropolitan University. “I experimented with rubber during my first semester in college. The amount of craftsmanship it demands is exciting. I continue using it today,” she says. Sanghvi’s collection features rubber bracelets, rings and neck pieces.
Handmade advantage
Boucher’s love for craftsmanship, started in early 2000, when she designed a pair of gold earrings shaped like the number eight. Even today, she looks after the production single-handedly. “I get all my stones custom-cut and absolutely everything is handmade,” adds Boucher. Similarly, when it comes to Sanghvi’s rubber jewellery, she herself does the trimming and knitting of the materials. ‘‘It demands skill especially when you work with rubber.”
In the pipeline
While Boucher’s new collection draws inspiration from The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Sanghvi’s collection is dedicated to bamboo textiles. “I’ve used new elements like bamboo fabric in the collection. It is also subdued in terms of colour,” says Sanghvi, who occasionally dabbled in pottery before realising her knack for cutting, tying and knitting rubber, by herself. Sood and Lalvani are currently working their Fall/Winter collection, Balance, which is inspired by algorithm.
Honorine Jewels, priced between `1,000 and `2,50,000, is available at Bombay Electric and online on honorinejewels.com. Details: 022 2287 6276.
The Other Side (priced between `2,000 and `15,000) and En Inde (`4,000 onwards) are available on fabulloso.com. Details: 011 2680 0070