This Gen Z jewellery designer wants you to wear organelles

Name: Karishma Dewan

Age: 26

Location: Mumbai, India

Profession: Fashion stylist and jewellery designer

Why you should know her: Dewan has spent the last few years thinking about bodies—how to dress them, frame them, and make them camera-ready. After starting out as an intern with Ami Patel in 2018 while studying at Pearl Academy, Dewan went on to work across celebrity styling, editorials, including a stint at Dirty, and brand campaigns as a stylist and creative director. Her new jewellery label, Anthropoiid, transforms human anatomy into adornment. The debut collection, ‘Experiment 1’, takes cues from the body’s microscopic machinery and turns them into dangling earrings that resemble axons, endoplasmic reticulum-like ear cuffs, and necklaces featuring cell-inspired motifs. It’s jewellery for anyone who likes theirs a little strange, a little cerebral, and a little bit alive.

What made her pivot to jewellery: “While styling, I realised that there’s so much jewellery out there from international brands that I’d love to have and own but is not always available in India. I feel there are very few brands that are doing unconventional everyday pieces in fine jewellery here.”

Why the brand is based on the human body: “I wanted to create something that people could really connect with and was buildable in the sense that I didn’t want the first collection to be so far removed from future collections. One of the things that’s always evolving and will always keep growing is human beings. The way humans are formed is art in itself. So, the idea was to just look within and actually reference what’s within.”

Everything is made to order in Mumbai: “I’ve designed every single piece myself and everything is handcrafted in Mumbai. The pieces are not limited-edition because I don’t want to force people into the decision thinking, oh, it’s going to sell out, so I have to buy it. I don’t want people to spend money just because they have it and because there’s a limited quantity of it. Even 10 months down the line, you can still buy this thing. Since everything is made for you, you can order it anytime.”

The first piece she designed: “It was the intestinal cell bracelet. I was looking at diagrams of intestines in textbooks and research papers online and it was so weird. And I was like, oh my god, I can’t believe this is inside of me. I start with paper and draw out everything that I want to do. I take a scan, put it on Procreate, and then work the details and colours out on my iPad. That goes to the factory and then we work on the wax sample. I’ve sat in the factory and made all the wax samples myself because every time my guys made a sample, they made it so clean and perfect. I wanted it to look like it’s fallen down three floors.”

She learned how to carve wax on Instagram: “I was looking at random Instagram videos about making jewellery and I just came across this lady working with wax pieces. The factory that makes our pieces belongs to a friend. I sent the video to my friend and I was like, do you think I can come and do it myself? And thankfully, they were very open to it. The karigars sat with me, showed me how to use the tools and the machine, and we just figured it out along the way. Super grateful for that, because I don’t think we would have got what we wanted it if I didn’t do it myself.”

The product names are inspired by Biology textbooks: “The first collection is inspired by human cells, and we call it ‘Experiment 1’. And even the products have been named in that manner. We’re calling it Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, like the little annotations in a biology textbook.”

The theme extends to the packaging: “We’re using a three-layer acrylic box connected with magnets. The visual inspiration comes from petri dishes scientists use in laboratories. We’re basically treating the jewellery like a cell sample. So, it feels like the customer is examining the piece under a microscope themselves. There are also these little pages that go out with every piece that show what the cell looks like because when I something is inspired by, say, an intestinal cell, nobody knows what intestinal cells look like.”

Why she chose silver: “I wanted to go into the fine jewellery space without having the expense of gold on my head and to create pieces that are designer but you also get value out of it. I know people, especially those my age, are still finding it tough to invest in gold, but silver is good. And then brass and stainless steel are also not materials that you can or want to pass down. I wanted these pieces to be part of your family, to be collectible. Also, jewellery is not meant to be kept in a locker, which people tend to do with gold, but silver doesn’t pinch all that much. Of course, if you look at it from a cultural point of view, wearing silver is said to bring you good luck.”

What’s on her playlist: “I can’t function without music and I have three main playlists. I have my morning playlist, which is slightly more on the religious side and helps calm my brain down. I have a gym playlist, which is in the house and techno space. And then there’s Talwiinder for when I want to take a break from the world and not do anything.”

What she’s currently watching: “I almost never watch new shows, so I’m currently re-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Because styling is so hectic, I like to watch shows where I don’t have to use my brain, so it’s like almost white noise running in the background while I’m scrolling on Instagram or doing my own thing.”

She doesn’t smoke, but she’s made a lighter case: “When I was discussing the idea with my mom, she asked me if I’ve been smoking secretly, but I’m not a smoker. In fact, I hate when people smoke around me. I’m the person in the group who’ll come to tell you you should stop smoking or you’re gonna die. The product for me was just something people could feel connected to. It’s like a mini bag. I like to stash my cash, keys, and lipstick in it. There’s a little chain on it, so you can attach it to your belt loop or even add a chain to carry it like a cross-body.”

Who she wants to see her jewellery on: “As much as I’d love for celebrities to wear it, I don’t think it fascinates me anymore, because I’ve been in the space for so long. There’s no particular wish list. I’ve also made the jewellery for real art- and fashion-loving people. So, it would just be nice for anybody who appreciates art and fashion and the kind of thought that has gone behind these pieces.”

What’s next for Anthropoiid: “The word ‘anthropoid’ means something that resembles a human being. The plan is to eventually reach a point where we’ve, through the collections, created a human being of our own. We’re going into DNA for our next collection, and then we’re going to explore muscles, vessels, organs, skin—everything that goes into making a human being—and then eventually expanding into the extensions of humans, like emotions, feelings, mental spaces...things like that.”