Anoushka began working in the fashion industry, alongside her parents, when she was eight years old. She draws artistic inspiration from her family who supported her creativity early on. As a visual merchandiser, her father and her artist mother both encouraged her to enter design competitions and work with people she admired in creative industries, including film, TV, advertising, visual merchandising and, of course, fashion. “I’ve wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as I can remember,” says Anoushka who started making clothes for herself and her dolls at a young age. “When I was 15, I became extremely ill and my caretaker at the time taught me to make jewellery, and ever since this time I have been passionate about designing and creating unique pieces."  Eventually, after studying fashion design at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and working in the industry for 10 years, Anoushka decided to take her passion to a new level, and — with a leap of faith — she quit her job and launched Anoushka Van Rijn Jewellery.”

Inspired by New Zealand’s natural landscape and beauty, Anoushka Van Rijn Jewellery is a modern take on the nineteen sixties and seventies. The brand consists of a classic bespoke collection and unique one-off pieces.

Anoushka’s aesthetic is a combination of her love of vintage and New Zealand’s incredible scenery. It draws inspiration from everyday life and her surroundings. The collection is centered around bold statement jewellery for the woman who wants to stand out, feel special, and isn’t afraid to be different. Anoushka strives to help people move out of their fashion “comfort zones” and to embrace courageous, confident design. As a testament to her passion for quality and sustainability, all of Anoushka’s pieces are created and made by hand in New Zealand.

Her inspiration comes from her own imagination and New Zealand’s fresh beach scene. Her muse is Edie Sedgwick, American It Girl from the 1960s, who has inspired her bold, disco, effortlessly cool style. The actual materials also inspire her design. She looks for unique colours, textures, and shapes that appeal to her magpie eye. “When I see something that draws me in, I immediately get a strong knowing whether it is exceptional and individual enough to inspire others.”

Her style can be explained as bold, stand out, and fearlessly self-expressive. Her motto is “be yourself not someone else,” and, she believes, fashion has a huge role to play in achieving this.  Anoushka’s favourite saying comes from Chanel: “in order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” Anoushka lives these words and follows them with all her heart. “We are ALL irreplaceable because we are ALL different,” she stresses. Anoushka feels strongly that we must all embrace our uniqueness. I hear so many women say, “oh, but I can’t pull that off.” So, I say in reply, “the only reason you can’t pull it off is because you don’t believe YOU CAN.”

Anoushka’s jewellery has been featured in three issues of British Vogue. Her designs have also adorned many fearless women, such as Parris Goebel, Ngahuia Williams, Simone Anderson and Laura Hardlow. Anoushka’s designs have also been featured in some of New Zealand’s top Fashion Magazines: Fashion Quarterly, Remix, Next Magazine, Together Journal and The Sunday Herald. Anoushka Van Rijn Jewellery showcased as part of New Zealand Fashion Week two years running (2017 & 2019), Ipseity Paris Popup Boutique & Website (2018), D&M directory (2018-2019) Oversew fashion weekend (2018), Truly and Madly blog (2018), Hate Me Date Me blog (2018), Flying Fish Productions (2018) and Unique Model Management (2017 & 2018), 62 model management (2018).