Mawi Keivom: Leap Of The Panther

Moulding her emotions into striking baubles, Manipur-born and UK-based jewellery epic Mawi Keivom uses the art of jewellery design to express and connect. Her ‘Indian Odyssey’ collection showcased recently at the Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014, fabulously enhanced the dazzling space-age creations by Gaurav Gupta. But even more engaging is the inspiring story of her rise to the top.

Mawi Keivom is the flavour of the season. Back home after 12 years, Mawi (pronounced M-oy) presented her glittering debut collection, adding panache to Gaurav Gupta’s remarkably futuristic show called ‘Memphire’, bringing day two at the LFW Summer/Resort 2014 to a roaring close. Considered a global luxe brand, Mawi showcased a line of ultra-glam pieces that offered a retrospective of the designer’s work. Adding on hints of her heritage, she brought to life, a distinct design quality, rarely seen on the ramp.

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Mawi, who was raised all over the globe by her diplomat father, feels for the cause of North-Eastern women. She says, “As a nation we need to celebrate ethnicity and difference. It is disheartening to see North Eastern women in the capital discriminated against, molested, criticised for the way they dress and mercilessly raped. Education is what will empower them and enable them to deal with adverse situations, without such incidents crushing their spirit. I have lived abroad all my life and have never faced any racial attack.”

The tribal touch

For Mawi, jewellery is not just a piece, it is an emotion, and an expression. This thought has translated into her ingenious line called ‘Granny Chic’. And chicness is a part of everything she does. An admirer of everything vintage, she has given pearls and old school jewellery-making processes an edgy twist, incorporating the past and combining it with shimmering newness. Her family has been instrumental in making Mawi understand her heritage and shape her aesthetic. That’s why you will see Manipur’s tribal touches in her jewellery. She explains, “The bold statement pieces and vibrant use of colour, is a reflection of my roots. My upbringing in Europe, Middle East and South East led me to imbibe their cultural fabric, which is what has given my jewellery a multi-dimensional edge.”

This is juxtaposed by her inherent love for panthers, in which, too, her roots have a role to play. Inspired by François Cartier’s designs of the 30s and 40s, Mawi saw panthers as a tour de force, and incorporated that artistic ideology in her sparkling renditions, which won her a space at the British Fashion Council. Maybe her surname, which means black panther in Manipuri, had some role to play in drawing her towards this epithet.

Embellished with spikes, studs and skulls, this is a recurring theme in her eponymous label.

She elaborates, “I love panthers, they have always existed in the jewellery business, right from Cartier’s perfume (Panthere de Cartier) to his slip-on bangles with panther mouths which leaped into popularity. They are also a part of North Eastern tribal jewellery. I wanted to celebrate their prowess and grace through my necklaces by turning the theme on its head and mixing it up with different elements.”

Meeting of the minds

She has wowed the international catwalks with interesting collaborations with Bruno Magli and Hugo Boss, but her journey to the top has not exactly been short. She started as an intern with the legendary American style maverick Isaac Mizrahi. This is when she started dreaming of success and gathered determination to work towards it. She remembers with a smile, “Isaac was a coveted designer when I was working with him. As a young girl, I was thrown into the press department, where I embarked on show planning and energy-sapping coordination. That taught me that a lot of hard work goes into being successful and that there are no shortcuts in life. This, in a way, paved the way for my own label, and helped me understand the backstage management of a business.”

Collaborating with Swarovski and Disney taught Mawi how to intermingle a brand’s vision with her own handwriting, as she would never agree to do anything that is not a “meeting of the minds”. “I don’t want to lose my identity or my individuality in the process, that’s why it is called a collaboration,” she grins.

Ready for India

Saluting her tenth anniversary through a retrospective in the country, Mawi believes that it is time to enter the Indian space. But she laments the non-existence of multi-brand stores like Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdales in a country of billions. “I feel encouraged by the reception I have received here, hence, I am scouting for an effective space to showcase my jewellery. The Indian woman is well-travelled and exposed to foreign brands and high-street labels, so that fashion education will want her to seek alternative brands like ours,” concludes Mawi.

From the April 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.