Anndra Neen: Where Art, Legacy, and Wearable Sculpture Collide
Photo Eric White
Neen
"We don't follow trends. We follow instincts. Jewelry as wearable sculpture, something you pass down, not just discard."
Their grandmother, Annette Nancarrow, was a painter, sculptor, and jewelry designer whose pieces were collected by Frida Kahlo, Peggy Guggenheim, Helena Rubinstein, and Elizabeth Arden. This label is her continuation.
Nancarrow
The grandmother at the center of everything. Based in Mexico City in the 1930s and 1940s, Annette Nancarrow and her husband, the avant-garde composer Conlon Nancarrow, ran in the highest artistic circles of their era. Her chunky necklaces and bracelets, made from pre-Colombian stones, shells, and metal, adorned the most remarkable women of the 20th century.
When Phoebe and Annette Stephens founded Anndra Neen, they weren't starting from zero. They were continuing a line of making that began before they were born, in a Mexico City atelier surrounded by painters, muralists, and surrealists.
Jewelry as wearable sculpture. Something you pass down, not just discard. Slow luxury over mass production.
Mad Max meets Alexander Calder. Ancient textiles meet French medieval armor. Pre-Colombian meets Surrealist.
Every piece hand-hammered, welded, and oxidized by maestros in their Mexico City workshop.
Narrating a family's story through objects. Modern heirlooms. Every piece carries memory and meaning.
I actually met Phoebe on the plane going to Mexico — neither of us knew we were both headed to the same mutual friend's wedding. Some encounters are just meant to happen.
For Phoebe and Annette Stephens, starting a jewelry line was hardly a stretch. Their grandmother, Annette Nancarrow, was a painter, sculptor, and jewelry designer. Based in Mexico City in the 1930s and 1940s, she and her husband, the avant-garde composer Conlon Nancarrow, ran in haute artistic circles, with a coterie of close friends that included Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco, and Anais Nin. The Stephens girls grew up in Mexico surrounded by art and artists, and they used these memories as inspiration for their collections.
Founded in 2009, each piece is handcrafted of copper, brass, and nickel silver in their Mexico City workshop. Architectural and unique, their jewelry has been worn by Michelle Obama, Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore, and Nicole Richie.
Former fashion specialist at Phillips de Pury. Brings literary depth and art market sensibility to the creative vision.
Brings theatrical drama and performance instinct to design. Every piece carries her understanding of presence and gesture.
These aren't mere adornments. They're conversation pieces with soul.
Rejecting mass production for handmade imperfection and emotional resonance.
Mexican craft meets global surrealism. Pre-Colombian stones meet European avant-garde.
"We're narrating our family's story through objects. Every piece carries memory and meaning. We don't follow trends. We follow instincts."
"We like to think of our jewels as sculptures. They're like beautiful objects that happen to be wearable."
What are your references for the work?
It's kind of like Mad Max meets modern art. We're inspired by Dario Argento's horror films and Alexander Calder's jewelry, as well as Japanese compositions, Egyptian motifs, French medieval armor, and ancient textiles. Our grandmother's avant-garde spirit lives on in the organic yet structured forms. Handcrafted of copper, brass, and nickel silver in our Mexico City workshop, each piece is architectural and unique.
What does it mean to grow up bicultural and how does it shape the work?
Growing up bicultural, we never felt like we fit a mold, but we used that to our advantage. What our style says about us is that we don't want to blend in. It took us many years not to feel guilty about the fact that we were obsessed with clothing and style. People tend to think it's superficial. Standing out is a lifeline. Someone who will dare to wear and wants to be different, thinking outside the box, mixing genres and being her own woman. Sophisticated and feminine, but bold as well.
Who are you designing for?
Third generation artists ourselves, we are keen to produce jewelry that spans all age groups and can be reinvented by each individual. Tilda Swinton, Daphne Guinness, Marion Cotillard, Cate Blanchett as ideal ambassadors. But really: someone who will dare to wear. Someone who understands that an object can carry a history and still feel utterly contemporary. Someone for whom jewelry is never an afterthought.
"All our lives, we have been surrounded by art and by artists. Design is in our lineage. Anndra Neen is the manifestation of our unique sensibility, a means of both honoring our creative legacy and evolving it."
