The Luxe Designer As a designer I am always looking at extending my design sensibilities: Farah Khan Ali

Coming from a family who's been part of Indian movies, Farah Khan Ali, went to find her passion in a sector she never planned to get into. When asked about her foray into jewellery designing, Farah Khan Ali says, "Post college I had tried everything from Film making, to ad films to interior design but I guess I was destined to be a jewellery designer even though I had no intention of becoming one. On a whim I decided to accompany a friend of mine who was going to GIA to do Gemmology because she wanted to be a jewellery designer. Personally I wanted to get out of India and party in the US, however destiny had other plans and I ended up topping my gemmology class by becoming the Indian Nerd who studied every day because Gemmology is a science and involves the study of the chemical optical and physical properties of 99 minerals and their gemstone varieties. The only way to pass was to study as there was nothing artistic about it. I then followed it with a jewellery design class and I guess that is when I found my forte. I loved the fact that I could give life to a gemstone and set it in jewellery so that it could be worn by people and go down generations in time."

Talking about mastering her art and living, breathing and thinking design, she says, "As a creator I am always pushing the boundaries and wanting to try out new things. I am fascinated by technology so I use that in the process of my designs. In fact with Farah Khan Atelier, my pret label of premium jewellery I have experimented with ceramic and diamonds." The pandemic in the initial stages threw everyone off balance. Business came to a halt and the future was very uncertain. There were many tough choices she had to make
and one was giving up her flagship store because the rent was too high to sustain with no business. The other choice was to lay off my staff, however she held on to her staff and gave up her store because Human Resources were far more important to me than brick and mortar and she doesn't regret that decision. That's how Farah Khan Atelier the label took birth. Farah Khan Atelier is a shop in shop concept so the label will be available across leading jewellery retailer stores. It is available currently in 5 high end Damas Jewellery stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Mumbai Launch also took place in February.

Talking about brand extensions, she says, "As a designer I am always looking at extending my design sensibilities. Currently as a brand I am also focusing on lifestyle and hope to grow that more this coming year. In fact I have a new collaboration that will be announced shortly something that is far from the jewellery world but involves lifestyle."