If you have noticed, there’s a hot new jewellery label Aé-Teē that’s been spotted on celebrities and on fashion magazine covers. Meet Ankita Tiwari, a NIFT alum whose art-deco pieces are on many lust lists. We caught up with her for an exclusive chat.
Team MissMalini (TeamMM): How did you come up with your brand name?
Ankita Tiwari (AT): The idea behind the brand name was rather simple, it had to be an extension of who I am at the same time, not just be all about me. It’s basically my initials A T put together.
TeamMM: What are the materials you frequently work with?
AT: At the studio, there’s a lot of experimenting and mixing up of materials. But we mainly work with a base metal like brass or copper and lots of crystals, studs, semi-precious stones, pearls, vinyl sheets, chains, cords etc.
TeamMM: Tell us the process of creating these pieces from start to finish?
AT: It starts with an idea! And all the materials (sourced extensively from all across the country, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Rajasthan, Gujarat etc) are put together, there’s a lot of playing around with these materials, and once the ideas are finalized, they are prepared by the karigars at the workshop and then we get it plated in 24k gold, and the final step is setting the stones, crystals etc.
TeamMM: What influences your designs?
AT: Travel! I absolutely love to travel and I feel travelling opens me up to many amazing experiences, people, cultures, ideas and perspectives! For me, most of these trigger a design idea!
TeamMM: What is your personal style?
AT: It’s quite simple yet ostentatious. I love to mix it all up.
TeamMM: What jewellery do you wear everyday?
AT: My Grandmother’s ring.
TeamMM: Who would you love seeing in your designs?
AT: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Anhaita Shroff Adajania and Rihanna.
TeamMM: What’s next for you?
AT: I have started working on my new collection which will be launched this summer. We are also expanding our accessories section to bags, mobile covers, footwear etc. There are also plans to launch a clothing line.
Pix: Instagram