Ana Khouri (born March 5, 1981) is a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

-based

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

designer. Khouri works with

gemstones A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

, 18K

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, or

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

. Her range includes ear cuffs. Rather than release of seasonal collections, Khouri focuses on limited editions.

Early life and education

Ana Khouri was born in 1981 in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and grew up in

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

. Her father is an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

. She studied sculpture at art school and holds a degree in

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

at FAAP. Khouri studied

gemology Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a specific interdisciplinary branch of mineralogy. Some jewellery, jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qua ...

at the

Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and s ...

and also studied at the

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

in New York. Additionally, Khouri completed a course in jewelry design from London's

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

, and has studied under

Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...

Career

Khouri has been sculpting and working on individual special projects since 2002. She moved to

in 2012. Her namesake collection was launched in the US in 2013. As of 2014, Ana Khouri presents installations once a year during Paris Haute Couture at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. These presentations center on a single concept that informs the designs, displays, and settings of the collection. She held her first solo exhibition at Phillips Auction House, New York, in September 2018. It was a four-day exhibition followed by Khouri's second four-day exhibition at the London-based Phillips Auction House in September 2019, showcasing the artist's jewelry and sculptural works. In 2019, Khouri held a jewelry exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Khouri is a member of CFDA and the second contemporary jeweler to garner distinction at Phillips.

Collaborations

Khouri has worked in collaboration with fashion designer

Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Jesus Rodriguez III (; born January 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer. Early life and education Rodriguez was born in Newark, New Jersey, the eldest child and only son of Cuban parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez II, ...

, contributing pieces to complement his Spring/Summer '16 collection and again for Fall/Winter '16. Ana partnered with

Dover Street Market Dover Street Market is a multi-brand retailer originally located on Dover Street, in Mayfair, London. It has stores in New York City, Tokyo, Singapore, Paris, Beijing and Los Angeles. Dover Street Market was created by Rei Kawakubo of Japanese ...

in New York for the release of her 2015 and 2016 pieces, and again in 2017 for the release of her first Haute Joaillerie installation in London. In 2016, the designer launched a bridal collection with

Barneys New York Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks F ...

. In 2018, Khouri was hosted by Phillips for a selling exhibition titled ''Jewels'' ''Now'' dedicated to the work of the visionary jewelry designer. The subsequent year, in 2019, Phillips London headed "Ana Khouri: Jewels as Art," the first show of its kind held in London, which showcased the full retrospective of the designer's work. In 2019, Ana Khouri introduced a special collaboration with The Row, the only contemporary jewelry designer carried there.

Philanthropy

Spearheaded by Khouri in 2014, Projeto Ovo is a Brazilian non-profit that donates 100% of all sales proceeds to 75 NGOs. During the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Khouri created several pieces, including a sapphire ring and a pair of diamond earrings, and donated 100% of their proceeds to

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

and the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund, respectively. Khouri has pledged donations to

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

Hetrick-Martin Institute The Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) is a US non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth between the ages of 13 and 24, and their families. History It was founded in 1 ...

, and

Campaign Zero Campaign Zero is an American police reform campaign launched on August 21, 2015. The plan consists of ten proposals, all of which are aimed at reducing police violence. The campaign's planning team includes Brittany Packnett, Samuel Sinyangwe, ...

Media attention

Her V-shaped gold Wave Tiara gained her international attention when it became a favorite of Madonna. Later,

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...

wore Khouri's ear cuffs to the premiere of Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Awards and recognitions

Khouri is the winner of the 2017

ANDAM ANDAM is a French fashion award established in 1989 by Nathalie Dufour as a joint venture between the French Ministry of Culture and the DEFI Mode fashion organisation. Presented by the Association Nationale pour le Développement des Arts de la M ...

Accessory Award. In 2019, she was nominated for the jewelry Design category at the GEM Awards 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khouri, Ana 1981 births Living people American jewelry designers Brazilian jewellery designers Brazilian people of Lebanese descent Designers from São Paulo Women jewellers