Ana Khouri (born March 5, 1981) is a New York-based

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

designer. Khouri works with ethically and responsibly sourced

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

, 18K Fairmined and

Fairtrade A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, As ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

. Her range includes

ear cuff An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations a ...

s. Rather than release seasonal collections, Khouri focuses on limited editions.

Early life and education

Ana Khouri was born in 1981 in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil and grew up in

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

. Her father is an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

. She studied sculpture at art school and holds a degree in Fine Arts at FAAP. Khouri studied

Gemology Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identif ...

from 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 se ...

and also studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York. Additionally, Khouri completed a course in jewellery design from London's

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

, and has studied under

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

Career

Khouri has been sculpting and working on individual special projects since 2002. She moved to New York in 2012. Her namesake collection was launched in the US in 2013. As of 2014, Ana Khouri presents installations once a year durin
Paris Haute Couture
at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. These presentations centre 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 jewellery and sculptural works. In 2019, Khouri held a jewellery 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 I ...

, 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, Beijing and Los Angeles. Dover Street Market was created by Rei Kawakubo of Japanese fashio ...

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 Inc. is an American luxury brand founded in New York City in 1923. It has introduced major designers including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna to the US market. Barneys ...

. In 2018, Khouri was hosted by Phillips for a selling exhibition titled ''Jewels'' ''Now'' dedicated to the work of the visionary jewellery 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 jewellery 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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, 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 or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

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

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

Hetrick-Martin Institute The Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) is a New York City-based 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. It was founde ...

, and Campaign Zero.

Media Attention

Her V-shaped gold Wave Tiara gained her international attention when it became a favourite of Madonna. Later, Jennifer Lawrence wore Khouri's ear cuffs to the premiere of Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Her work has been worn by clients such as Emma Stone,

Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. The daughter of Kenyan politi ...

Liberty Ross Liberty Lettice Lark Ross (born 23 September 1978) is an English model. She has appeared in publications such as '' Vogue'', '' Harper's Bazaar'', '' i-D'', and '' Dazed & Confused''. She is the sister of composers Atticus and Leopold Ross. ...

, Rihanna, Isabeli Fontana,

Emma Watson Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and activist. Known for her roles in both blockbusters and independent films, as well as for her women's rights work, she has received a selection of accolades, includi ...

Alicia Vikander Alicia Amanda Vikander (, ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award, as well as receiving nominations for ...

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Michelle Obama,

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

, Sara Paulson,

Karlie Kloss Karlie Elizabeth Kloss (born August 3, 1992) is an American fashion model. ''Vogue Paris'' declared her one of the "top 30 models of the 2000s" when she was 17. Kloss was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2013 until 2015; she resigned to study at ...

Claire Foy Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awar ...

, and Jennifer Lawrence.

Awards and Recognitions

Khouri is the winner of the 2017 ANDAM Accessory Award. In 2019, she was nominated for the jewellery 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 People from São Paulo Women jewellers