Trends

A New Book Charts One Designer’s Inspirations

TrendsApr 02, 2019

A New Book Charts One Designer’s Inspirations

“Farah Khan: A Bejewelled Life” is a diary into the mind of its eponymous jewelry designer.

20190402_FarahKhan-header.jpg
The cover of “Farah Khan: A Bejewelled Life,” out this month from Rizzoli.

New York—Farah Khan Ali is a jewelry designer, adventurer, wife, mother, and nature-lover, and a new book explores all of her sides.

Edited by Paolo de Luca, CEO of trend forecasting company The Futurist, “Farah Khan: A Bejewelled Life” is available from Rizzoli this month.

The visually abundant book breaks down the concrete—a finished piece of jewelry—into the abstract: the many inspirations and life journeys that inform a design.


These earrings represent Khan’s romantic, feminine side.

The daughter of a successful Bollywood actor, Khan began designing jewelry in the 1990s and created her Farah Khan jewelry line in 2004, first selling at other retailers in her home country, India, before eventually opening her own retail outpost in 2010. The store closed but reopened in 2013 in Mumbai, where it remains today.

Khan’s extraordinary work, with the majority featured being one-of-a-kind pieces, is divided into five separate sections.

“Fluidity” takes the reader into Khan’s childhood vacationing on the beaches of Mauritius, and the designer’s lifelong love of water, while “Royal Flair” examines the inspiration she found in the walls of palaces belonging to childhood friends, and the impact that Mughal India and its rich art and architecture has had on Khan’s artistry.


Farah Khan earrings, inspired by nature

“Naturalia” delves further into natural landscapes around the globe that have acted as a mental birthing ground for some of Khan’s most elaborate jewels, many of which depict animals.

“The Rose,” meanwhile, shows the designer’s most classically feminine creations, which are an ode to history in India and beyond.

Lastly, “Surreal Vision” shows the designer’s most geometric and graphic jewelry, inspired by architecture and visual patterns found, again, in India and around the world.

Accompanied by sketches, family photos and images of fine art and architecture, “Farah Khan: A Bejewelled Life” is a scrapbook of an artist and global citizen, creating a complete picture of a dynamic individual.

It’s available now for $125 through RizzoliUSA.com and various booksellers.   

Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.

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