Young Designers Reimagine Jewelry

For Ana Khouri, 33, jewelry is wearable art. Born in Brazil, Ms. Khouri studied jewelry design in London before starting her line in 2002. Her early pieces were guided by the philosophy that jewelry should become a part of a woman and complement her naturally, and included rings and bracelets that resembled scattered gold leaves and spider-shaped earrings with spindly curves and white diamonds.

These days, she may be best known for opulent headpieces on celebrities like Alicia Keys and models like Isabeli Fontana. “It’s not about a ring or an earring,” Ms. Khouri said. “It’s more about melding the form of the body with the form of the jewelry.”

LOOK Wing-shaped earrings layered with white diamonds; gold leaf clustered pendants; geometric handcuffs in rose gold.

Whether hanging at the Chateau Marmont or driving a convertible with the top down, Anita Ko, 38, lives the kind of Southern California life depicted in Sofia Coppola films. It doesn’t hurt that friends like Rachel Zoe and China Chow are also top clients.

Growing up with the “more is more” ethos of the 1980s, Ms. Ko said she developed a love for jewelry as a child watching her mother accessorize with heavy, yellow-gold and bejeweled pieces from Cartier. “I was that kid beading her own necklaces and wrapping my mom’s jewelry around myself as if it were my own,” she said. Ms. Ko began designing under her own name in 2006, making jewelry for herself and friends using geometric shapes like circles and triangles, which became her signature.

LOOK Spiked bracelets, layered diamond bangles and diamond baguettes shaped like leaves.

Gaia Repossi, 28, didn’t plan to go into the family business. “I was more fascinated with contemporary art,” she said. But her father, Alberto Repossi, persuaded her to join the family’s venerable jewelry house, which was started in 1925 in Turin, Italy.

Under her direction, the jewelry line has become more sculptural, with influences from Bauhaus and 20th century architecture. “I am interested in the structure of objects,” she said. “Gold in strong shapes instead of stones. The study of the silhouette, not color.” Ms. Repossi found early fans in Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld, as well as her circle of young heirs and heiresses like Andrea Casiraghi, Tatiana Santo Domingo and Eugenie Niarchos.

LOOK Gold filigreed cuffs, multitiered stacked rings, free-form bracelets and rings that resemble squiggles.

Design is in Delfina Delettrez’s genes. As a fourth-generation member of the Fendi family, Ms. Delettrez dabbled in fashion, working briefly at Chanel Haute Couture, before following her childhood love of jewelry. “I would observe my grandmother, how jewelry could transform her look,” said Ms. Delettrez, 26, referring to Anna Fendi Venturini. “I wanted to use jewelry-making to carry these stories and moments from generation to generation.”

Her designs, playful yet elegant, often incorporate whimsical objects like eyeballs, spiders and shirt collars rendered in precious metals, candy-colored jewels and oversized pearls. “I have a phantom way of setting my stones that gives off a floating sensation,” she said. “I love exploring movement within jewelry.”

LOOK Offbeat and witty styles that feel subversively modern, like a brooch shaped like a slug crawling out of a skull.

Jennifer Fisher, 42, has a knack for procuring one-of-a-kind jewelry, having worked as a celebrity stylist in Los Angeles and New York for 12 years. So when Ms. Fisher wanted a piece of jewelry to commemorate the birth of her first son, Shane, in 2005, she knew her options were limited. “There was nothing cool to put your kid’s name on,” she said.

So Ms. Fisher made something herself: a 14-karat gold dog tag stamped with her son’s name that hung on a thick gold chain. The piece caught the attention of directors and actors with whom she worked on commercial and magazine shoots. In little time, Ms. Fisher transitioned from stylist to jewelry designer, making bespoke pieces for celebrities like Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman. Ms. Fisher plans to open a store in the Flatiron District this summer.

LOOK Gold and diamond cuffs burnished with inspiring words or names, 18-karat gold dog-tag pendants.