This Harvard Student Designs Jewelry for Michelle Obama and Serena Williams
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It's not every day that a college sophomore creates a celebrity-loved jewelry brand, but Shilpa Yarlagadda isn't your average student. Since the sophomore at Harvard founded Shiffon Co. in 2017, the likes of Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman, Christy Turlington (and many others) have all been spotted wearing the brand's signature Duet Pinky Ring. And that's not even the best part: 50% of the profits from the pinky rings are donated to seed grants for female entrepreneurs.
"The Duet Pinky Ring represents a 'pinky promise' to pay it forward to support women," Yarlagadda told Who What Wear. "That’s why the Duet Pinky Ring has a tiny diamond set beside a larger stone—it represents one woman supporting another. Sometimes, all it takes is having a woman you admire believe in you."
Of course, I had to ask what her reaction was after seeing a former first lady and a 23-time Grand Slam champion wear her design. "Our team really looks up to women like Michelle Obama and Serena Williams," Yarlagadda said, "so seeing them wear our pinky ring and join the girl gang really gave us confidence that our Pinky Pledge movement has legs. Since Serena has actually invested in female-founded companies like Daily Harvest, and Michelle has always empowered women with the Global Girl Alliance, which helps adolescent girls get access to education since over 98 million girls in the world are currently not in school, having these two incredible women take the Pinky Pledge was an amazing moment to be a part of." Something tells us we'll be seeing a lot more of this brand in the future—and we can't wait to see what they have up their sleeve.
Scroll down to see how Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman, and other celebrities have worn the ring and shop the brand for yourself.
Photo:
Getty Images
Photo:
Getty Images
