Punk homecoming

It's a journey back to her roots for cult jewellery designer Mawi Keivom, who last week held her first ramp show in India after a decade of fame and recognition abroad and says the homecoming could not have been timed better.

"It has always been a dream to come back to my roots and have a show here. But we were waiting for the right time and right platform. Now is perfect," gushes Mawi, who showcased her eponymous designs on the ramp with Gaurav Gupta at the Lakme India Fashion Week Summer Resort Wear 2014 in Mumbai.

Over the last decade, the Manipur-born Mawi's designs have graced many a red carpet and been worn by celebs like Rihanna, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and Scarlett Johansson. The London-based designer trained in womenswear from the Auckland Institute of Technology under Issac Mizrahi, but found her calling in jewellery instead. Her label has picked up the New Generation Award three times in a row after she launched it in 2001. Her designs carry heavy punk influences and are known for their edgy appeal.

"I studied womenswear, but was forever making trinkets, bags and accessories. My main focus at that time was women's clothing, but I'd been collecting old coins, skulls and tusks and making accessories when the DIY trend began making the rounds. And people were soon taking a lot of interest in my pieces," Mawi told dna over the phone.
"I made a collection of handbags from the textile I made as an application for a masters at Central Saint Martins and they were snapped up by Selfridges. There was no plan to be an accessories designer, but it just happened."
Her first collection was a hit.

"I had picked up stuff from flea markets from all over and built our first collection. It was picked up by 120 stores; we did not know how to produce all of it. It was punkish, had industrial elements, and was generally a romantic collection. It created a new aesthetic — bringing textile in the realm of jewellery — and suddenly there was a huge demand for it," she recalls.
Mawi, who grew up hopping from one country to another with her diplomat father, says that every country's culture has influenced her work. "Even though we were in Kenya, Maldives, South Africa, Burma, Italy, the US etc., my parents always insisted on coming back to India for the holidays. We were lucky for the exposure, but did not lose the connect with our roots. I can still speak Hindi and my native Manipuri dialect," she says.

Mawi's designs carry strong tribal and punk influences, as much as a healthy display of destructive prettiness. "I've grown up around big amber and turquoise pieces — be it Manipuri, Mizo or Naga jewellery. My pieces are also symmetrical, echoing my love for sculpture and architecture. The 1920s Art Deco movement is a huge influence, as is industrial design. I build pieces that are punkish, pretty and grungy."

Punk has been her mainstay through the years. "I've nursed this rebellious streak in me… the subversive nature of the music scene and the political movement of that time that dared and pushed boundaries showed me an aesthetic and ideology that appeals to me to this day. I usually mix genres and styles and add an element that is destructive, damaged and subversive. That is what makes the Mawi jewels rebellious and edgy, and at the same time chic and glamorous," she says.

Mawi's collaboration with designer Gaurav Gupta paves the way for her to showcase her brand on home turf. She calls it 'Indian Odyssey: Our Journey Back to the Homeland' and has displayed a retrospective of all her favourite pieces from different collections. "The pieces display the diversity of what we have done in the last decade — a layered amalgamation of many collections," she says.

She hopes to collaborate with more Indian designers, and feels the time is just right to build the brand in the Indian market. "The industry has definitely changed. Traditionally, the Indian thought process was to look at jewellery as an investment. The new consumer with new lifestyle habits today wants to invest in a collector's item and this is encouraging," says Mawi.