Jewelry designer Martine Ali Interview

Picture an elementary school kid selling beaded necklaces to her mom’s coworkers during lunch break. Her mom, an architect with an eye for design but no background in jewelry, was her biggest supporter. “She was the first to wear something I made and say, ‘This is great, I’m wearing this to work,’” Martine Ali recalls. From day one, her mother treated Ali’s creations as a legitimate product. “She bought the finished pieces from me and pushed me to think about selling them,” the Brooklyn-based designer says. “It could’ve been a hobby, but she made me think about it differently. She empowered me to take it seriously.” Besides her mother’s lunch breaks, Ali also hosted trunk shows for her friends and coworkers, selling her handmade jewelry.

That business mindset carried through to Ali’s professional career, which kicked off at DKNY in 2006. She started as a student intern in licensing, a department she admits she had no clue about initially. But the creative energy of the space captivated her. After graduating from Fordham University, she returned to DKNY as a full-time design assistant. Her turning point came when the fashion director noticed the jewelry she wore to the office and asked her to bring in some of her personal pieces. “I showed him what I was working on, and he gave me the most random design directions,” she laughs. “But it was cool because I felt like a funnel, taking all these ideas and making them tangible.”

Leaving the structure of a big-name brand to become an independent designer was a risk, but it was one Ali was ready to take after five years at the brand. “When you’re part of a large brand, you have to tailor your ideas to fit their narrative,” she says. She realized she was no longer interested in creating designs that had to fit into a corporate mold. Instead, she wanted to speak directly to the individual—the kind of person who dresses to feel different. Designing for these kinds of individuals became the driving force behind her decision to pave her own way.

When Ali left DKNY, she went back to the drawing board on what inspired her. It was the music videos she watched growing up. “MTV, VH1, and 106 & Park were my only access to style and music,” she recalls of her childhood in Chicago.

Her signature designs—oversized ball chains, Cuban links, and bold hardware—are a direct result of that era. “DMX with the big Cuban link, Cisco in Thong Song rocking that long necklace—I was soaking all that in,” she says. “A lot of the links and hardware I use today come from those visuals. I’m always thinking about how to use a ball chain again and again. Sometimes, it doesn’t even need to feel fresh. It just is what it is.”

Ali’s use of silver and chains is intentional. “Selfishly, gold just isn’t my vibe. Silver feels cool without trying too hard. It’s casual, approachable,” she says. She works with two finishes: sterling silver, also known as 925, and what she calls heirloom silver. “Heirloom silver starts out bright but develops a beautiful patina over time, giving it that aged, vintage look that feels like something passed down for generations.”

Ali’s work is extremely hands-on, which according to the designer, is what gives her pieces a certain power. “Everything runs through someone’s hands. It gives the pieces a soul.” Ali says. All products start off with Ali’s team sourcing raw material. Then everything from assembly and finishing to shipping is done at their studio, or in the Diamond District on 47th Street.

Taking her design identity beyond jewelry last year was another pinch-me moment. Converse had called on her to translate her aesthetic into footwear. “Seeing that transition from jewelry to shoes was wild, and being able to curate the entire rollout.” This expansion has sparked bigger dreams. “Eyewear is something I’d love to dive into, and home and lifestyle too. We started making fixtures for stores to display jewelry, and that naturally led to furniture. I’d love to lean into that more.”

When it comes to the women who inspire her, Ali casts a wide net. “My mom, of course, had a huge hand in shaping my business mindset. But outside of that, Martha Stewart is a curveball. She took a skill and built an entire world around it. That’s inspiring.” Oprah is another influence, not just for her Chicago roots, but for the way she created a genre of television around storytelling. And then there’s Donna Karan, who Ali worked under at DKNY. The versatility of Donna Karen’s designs, even for corporate and formal settings, inspired the modular details of Ali’s pieces.

Right now, Martine Ali is in a reflective space. “I’m revisiting things I was doing five, 10 years ago. Whenever I’m looking for inspiration, I always go back to my earlier designs. There’s a freeness in the work you do before the pressures of sales set in, and I’m rediscovering that.”

Discover Martine Ali’s full Complex Shop assortment here, and our Women’s History Month edit here.