Ana De Costa - exclusive at Kabiri

Before starting her degree at Central Saint Martins in London, Ana De Costa had already started to build her portfolio of experience, working with some of the most pioneering creatives in the industry. In the summer of 2001, Ana joined Erickson Beamon, the infamous couture costume designers, giving her the opportunity to work closely with the Creative Director on exclusive catwalk pieces for Ungaro, Cavali, and Elspeth Gibson. It was during this period she made contact with Shaun Leane and Alexander McQueen, both would later play an intergral role within Ana's career.

Leane and Ana became friends and began to lay the foundations for future collaborations. The following year she worked closely with Leane on many projects for Alexander McQueen, Swarovski and his private collections. Ana continues to collaborate with Leane, most recently on the October 2006 Alexander McQueen couture show.

Ana's designs are influenced by her travels, in particular to the Far East, by her Latin heritage and the rich decadence of the Art Nouveau period. As a dedicated Colourist, she designs for the beautiful, vibrant stones she selects. It is this use of colour, and the way she chooses to encase the stone with luxurious gold that clearly demonstrates her natural talent and bohemian sense of style.

The last year has been an exciting year for Ana. Her graduation collection 'Cusp' caught the eye of Carol Woolton, the Jewellery Editor for British Vogue, who included Ana in 'The Vogue List' at the end of 2005, as the jeweller to watch. In September 2006 she won a prestigious place at IJL (International Jewellery London) on the coveted 'Bright Young Gems' stand, after being nominated by Carol Woolton.

Towards the end of 2006, Ana launched 'Cusp-Version II' a development of her graduation collection. This was launched at the Childwickbury Arts Fair, which is run by Christiane Kubrick, the wife of avant-garde film director Stanley Kubrick.

The Tanzanite Foundation invited Ana to design a capsule couture collection in 2007. This beautifully designed collection , uses Tanzanite, a stone that is more sort after and rarer than diamonds. In this world where there is concern about ethical sourcing, Tanzanite has a governing body that ensures that all stones are mined, cut and traded in an ethically correct fashion. This collection, available exclusively at Kabiri, is inspired by Tarot Card imagery. Each piece is a one-off and produced by hand from her London based studios.