Designer: Francesca Grosso
Age: 28
New York, N.Y.
Although jewelry was the family business for Francesca Grosso (her family owned a company that sold gold and precious stones), she never thought she would go into the industry. But when she moved to New York and started working at Opening Ceremony, Grosso noticed that people wanted high-end jewelry items — without the astronomical prices. So she launched Sorelle in 2012, and initially ran the business out of her bedroom. The David Lynch film “Dune” was the inspiration behind her sculptural fall/winter 2016 collection, which is made entirely out of metal.