Ok,so it’s been a while since Punjabi MC rode the radio-waves, and even longer since the Chatwals hobnobbed with the Clintons. But it’s never too long before this turbaned Renaissance Man does something unusual. Jeweller-designer-actor Waris Ahluwalia, who is as much at home on Vanity Fair’s Best Dressed list as on the the pages of The Paris Review or in the corridors of NYC’s Museum of Arts & Design, made a splash last year with his appearance in a Gap’s advertisement.
The Amritsar-born, New York-bred Ahluwalia is known for his unimpeachable style, which comes across as forcefully in his sharp suits as in his love of curated objects. His label ‘House of Waris’ retails luxury décor and couture accessories, commissioned and collected from across the world. In 2014, he has taken his treasure hunt to a new level, with the House of Waris Rare museum. This is a collection of custom-created artefacts that rests in the Explorer’s Library inside the Victorian gestalt of the Gritti Palace, Venice.
The space, according to its creator, puts meaning in material realities. Here, you can find the work of Fendi’s jeweller Delfina Delettrez, Colombian fashion designer Haider Ackermann and British jeweller-retailer-designer Asprey; there’s also stuff from an unknown Murano glassblower and Cecilia Bringheli, the Rome-based purveyor of elegant Italian dress slippers. Ahluwalia believes that pieces of rarity are waiting across the world to be found, and each of us have to find them in our own way.
| One of his favourite products is the Love Between the Shadow & Soul 18-carat gold cuff that is priced at £30,000 |
The rarer of Ahluwalia’s two labels unites 40 independent artisans and brands from across 14 countries in the creation of limited-edition objets d’art, fine scents and other things that are priced between £100 and 10,000. In keeping with the greater spirit of finding a distinct identity even in a global space, the products can also be bought online.