A Fine Line

Can activism and jewellery be compatible? Designer Eina Ahluwalia believes so. Bazaar speaks to the contemporary jeweller as she launches her latest collection about equality.

- Sitara Mulchandani

Eina Ahluwalia has something to say. You realise it the moment you see the glint in her eye, her big infectious smile, her stunning pieces. “Jewellery is a great way to speak out, to send a message,” she says. “People choose different ways of activism—for me, it’s jewellery.” That’s evident in each of her collections: Battlecry, which urges love, compassion, and humanity; Old Fashioned, a celebration of an era “when there was time for patience, understanding, and really listening”; Wedding Vows, a stand against domestic violence, which featured the kirpan as a running motif—“I loved the duality of the kirpan, how it signified strength and yet could do so much damage.” In fact, a quick look at her website shows ‘Feminist’ as a separate category entirely, featuring delicate necklaces and bracelets emblazoned with words like Fierce, Persist, and Respect.