Category Archives: Interviews

Talking to Jewellery Designer Mawi Keivom

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{Dear readers, below is a piece I’ve written for the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar India}

Manipur-born designer Mawi Keivom always knew she was going to work in fashion, and after studying Fashion Design, Keivom began working in womenswear at Isaac Mizrahi in New York. Luckily for us, that was not the end of the story.

A move to London and a successful handbag collection later, 2003 saw the launch of the designer’s eponymous jewellery brand. Never having designed jewellery before, Mawi’s first collection drew upon her clothing design experience – Victorian lace embellished with vintage pearls, velvet rosettes, and antique coins – and was an immediate hit. The British Fashion Council awarded Mawi the New Generation Award, and continued to do so for the next two seasons – high praise indeed.

Pearl ring from the Costume Luxe collection

Growing up in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, and New Zealand among others, Mawi credits her nomadic childhood as a defining influence on her aesthetic, “It made me see the world from a different perspective, this exposure obviously translates into my work”, she says. “There’s always a collision of cultures and underlying influences that you can’t pinpoint.”
She’s right – jade tusks, jewelled insects, molten skulls, sharp metal spikes, and angled geometric shapes all form part of her collections. Some are softened with gold leaves and iridescent pearls, but with names like Punk Rajah, Industrial Deco, and Dynamite, this is not jewellery for wallflowers. These are statement pieces, and like the designer, have much to say.

Tusk Bracelet from the Punk Nouveau collection

Spike ring from the Punk Rajah collection

Having always been a collector of “bits and pieces”, Mawi remembers that even as a child she would never leave the house without accessorizing: “Being from a tribal culture, symbols and motifs are very important to me. We wear jewellery not just as an adornment, but for spiritual wellbeing. I think my obsession with symbols stems from this.”

She treasures things that are vintage and have a sense of history and character, “Once I’ve laid my creative hands on them I’m giving them a new lease of life and adding value to something old”, she explains. But timing is key for this designer as she often holds onto things for years before they find their way into her designs. Rather than having a particular story in mind, it’s the coming together of different pieces and material that creates a starting point for Mawi when envisioning a collection.

Charm bracelet from the India Rose collection

Mawi’s pieces are full of juxtaposition – hard with soft, pretty with tough, classic with modern: skulls sit alongside delicate pearl florets while crystal beetles march up a row of industrial looking metal tubes. “I’ve got a rebellious streak and I have never wanted to conform”, she says. Mawi also likes to play with elements from different genres and piece them together to create something entirely unique. And while words like vintage, punk rock, gothic, and heritage can all be used to describe her work, her pieces have a signature style that make them instantly recognizable.

Tube necklace from the Deco Noir collection

Skull and floret earrings from the Punk Nouveau collection

When asked what propelled her to launch in India at this juncture, Mawi says that although in the past the focus had been on super brands, she believes that the Indian market is changing to incorporate smaller, edgier brands. She also thinks the next few years will see an appreciation for independent labels as Indian consumers will begin to opt for individuality over big names. With global stockists like Harrods, Selfridges, and Bergdorf Goodman under her belt, she hopes that Ozel will be the first of many partnerships in India.

Designing jewellery may not have been what she initially had in mind for herself, but we’re glad Mawi was bitten by the bauble bug.

Image Source:
mawi.co.uk

 

The Malkha Project: Talking to Peter D’Ascoli

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Words like sustainable, fair trade, and ecological get bandied about quite a bit in the design industry, but it’s not often that these concepts translate into high fashion – so when my friend Peter told me about a new project which brought the two together, I knew it was going to be special.

Malkha – also called the freedom fabric – is pure cotton cloth which is woven using traditional methods as well as modern technology. The cloth, because it isn’t heavily processed, retains its inherent texture, breathability, and springiness. It drapes well, and looks beautiful whether natural, colored, or printed. In short, it’s cotton with character.

Cotton now is largely mass produced in spinning mills situated far away from where the cotton is actually grown. Once farmers have sold the cotton, they’re cut out of the equation. Further, weavers working in these mills are no longer craftsmen with individuality. For a daily wage, their job is to weave as much homogenized, neutralized cotton cloth as possible.

Uzramma – the woman behind Malkha – is working to empower farmers and weavers by ensuring that production, dyeing, and weaving all take place in the same unit. Not only does this allow all those involved to be closer to the finished product, it also avoids environmentally harmful steps such as transportation, and the baling and unbaling of cotton – a process which uses heavy industrial machinery. In an interview with Mint, Uzramma said that what Malkha is doing is not “revivalism”, rather, it is using the “strength of the Indian textile production traditions in a contemporary context.”

Enter Peter D’Ascoli. A New York designer whose first job after graduating from FIT was in handicrafts with the Indian government. Years later, after working in New York (which included a stint with Diane von Furstenberg), Peter is now based in Delhi and happy to go back to his craft-based roots. The Malkha Project – created by Peter, Mayank Mansingh Kaul, and Aneeth Arora (Pero) – came about as a platform for designers to promote Malkha by working with the fabric to design individual collections.

Peter against the backdrop of one of his designs for the Malkha collection

“I am so attracted to Malkha because it addresses two huge fashion trends that we need to focus on,” says Peter. “The desire for sustainable production; and the whole notion of fair trade and nurturing ancient crafts and ways. Malkha addresses both these trends in an authentic way.”

Peter truly believes that the only way to make initiatives like Malkha sustainable is to create demand for the product in a way that excites the consumer. Through the Malkha Project, Peter hopes to address ‘green’ issues in a realistic, commercial manner within the design community.

Samples, fabric swatches, and print images line the entire wall in Peter’s studio

Peter’s design aesthetic is driven by his love for historic art and design. Mixing different design references enables him to create something entirely new. The Malkha collection (which I was lucky enough to see and photograph!) is evocative of this eclectic piecing together of prints, motifs, and colors: faded vintage with bright hues, classical references with animal prints, gothic ornaments with Mughal patterns – these are all elements that are typical of his style.

Tie dye print in bright blue with hot-pink floral chinoiserie flanked by a geometric border. A great example of how playing with the scale of different prints can transform the look of the piece.

Vintage floral print alongside a colorful but faded ikat. This particular scarf works really well to show off the texture of the malkha fabric.

Tiger stripe scarf in black and terracotta with traditional Jamawar border of paisleys. This piece is made contemporary by the written detail which is embroidered in dark green and hot pink.

Gothic ornaments with antique Coromandel kalamkari paisleys

Luxury means a number of things today – heritage: the story behind the idea, quality design, limited numbers, efficient and considerate manufacturing processes, and most importantly, a meaningful brand experience. The Malkha Project ticks all these boxes and then some.

They will launch their collections at Mélange in Bombay on the 18th of October. Envisioning this to be a long-term initiative, the designers hope to show the collections both in other Indian cities, and internationally. Fingers crossed – next stop Delhi.

For more information:
dascoliandcompany.com
malkha.in