This Jewellery Designer’s Body Harnesses Make You Feel Like a Glamazon

Raised between Mumbai and London, Anam Patel was deeply influenced by street fashion and trends in the UK capital while she was a teenager.

After completing her graduation in marketing management from Kingston University, she dabbled in various professions – from sales and advertising to hospitality and HR – before waking up to the creative side of her personality.

Fascinated by the way jewellery could not only enhance one’s attractiveness but also be a personal statement and an assertion of one’s attitude, she enrolled for a design course to study the basics of jewellery design and, last year, returned to India to launch her label of body harnesses, Anomaly by Anam.

Developed over months of research to test their technical feasibility, Anam’s harnesses are made of alloys of silver and brass, with some pieces plated with 22-karat gold and others silver. “The USP is the flexibility,” says the 28-year-old. “These harnesses fit any size and are very durable.”

With two collections behind her and products priced in the range of Rs 2500 – 20000, Anam calls her work statement jewellery for the body.

“It’s something I always wanted to wear as a teenager in London but wasn’t able to find something aligned with Indian aesthetics and culture,” she says, adding that her designs are inspired by historical references such as body armour.

Interestingly, her jewellery appeals to women of all ages, women who have a bold sense of style and are intrigued by what Anomaly has to offer.

“I have 15-year-old girls and 60-year-old women buying my pieces – they appeal to a certain personality and have nothing to do with age,” she says.

Anam – whose father is a businessman and whose two siblings also spend time between UK and India – has a certain wild side to her, she admits. When she’s not doodling, she’s riding horses, dancing, playing or watching football, or reading novels.

“Life isn’t only about material pursuits! I work hard and at the same time I also want to experience everything life has to offer. We need to balance it out,” she philosophizes.

She admits that, as a quintessential perfectionist, she struggled initially while setting up the business, as her karigars (artisans) were not used to taking orders from young women.

“But things are so much better now for women professionals than they used to be earlier, and as long as we keep on track, things will only get better,” she signs off.

First published in the February issue of eShe magazine. Read it for free here.