Farah is an architect, designer, and visionary. In 2013 she founded HKD, a jewelry company that designs, manufactures, and sells otherworldly, one of a kind pieces. Based in Dubai, her 3D printed creations have been featured in multiple publications, including the New York Times, Style.com, and Vogue.
“We create wearable sculptures that you can sculpt to your body. Each piece is made to sit on your body and elongate your lines.” One of her inspirations? Art history.
“Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring gave me inspiration to create a pearl earring that stands alone – it’s not a pair. Wearing it alone creates an asymmetrical look.” As well as art history, certain architects influence Farah’s designs. “The sculptural forms created by Oscar Niemeyer informed the design of our hoop earrings.”
Perhaps her most intriguing inspiration, however, are the clients themselves. Farah describes them as “…someone who is all about creating their own story by being playful with the way they look – who doesn’t care about the proper way of wearing jewelry.”
As HKD grows, Farah’s vision has been especially well received in the Middle East. “Growing up in the Middle East, I was surrounded by women that were inspired by Bedouin cultures or Indian cultures. They were constantly morphing their bodies with jewelry. Here, people wear jewelry as a representation of their identity, family lineage or status within society. For that reason, wearable pieces that have a direct impact on you and on your body are really interesting to me.”
Farah wasn’t always a jewelry designer, though. She graduated with a degree in architecture. “In architecture, the context informs your design. The same ideas apply to HKD jewelry. I wanted to create a building that would sit on a site, but that site was the body.”
Moving forward, Farah hopes to experiment with a wider variety of techniques and materials. “I think that it would be interesting to experiment more in terms of materiality – how we use the 3D printer, for instance. I’d love to combine materials that don’t usually exist together in jewelry. That would be something worth experimenting in.”
To see more of Farah’s work, visit HKD’s website.
