A-listers are bonus

Her crisp British accent aside, Indian-born London-based jewellery designer Mawi Keivom is as Indian as it gets. Hailing from Manipur, Mawi has come a long way, with a formidable clientele comprising the likes of Rihanna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss.
India on her designs
The lady, who once said that India isn’t yet ready for her designs, is ready with her collection for India! “India has changed a lot in the last five to 10 years.A decade ago, it would have been a little premature for us to venture into India, so it was important to first build a brand in the West. We have dressed all the A-list Hollywood stars and are stocked in the biggest stores globally... Once you’ve done that, it’s a lot easier to break into the Indian market because you have kind of established yourself there. It feels a lot more special to be here and selling to people in India; after all, it’s home and it’s nice to have people appreciate what you do on your home turf,” she says.
On her identity and roots
Acceptance is something Mawi still has to fight for. She still has a tough time convincing people that she’s Indian.“I’ve always had to prove that I’m an Indian, sometimes even to Indians. It is only when I speak in Hindi that they begin to believe me, but the first reaction is always of disbelief.” Her work, too, could easily testify to her Indian roots, laden as it is with Indian influences, though infused at the same time, with her impressions of her travels around the world. “I was born in India, so Indian culture is a big part of what I do, but since my father was an IFS officer, I have lived in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Burma, Europe and America and each country has influenced my work.”
‘Old’ obsession
“I love antique Indian jewellery and my latest obsession is South Indian gold and antique jewellery,” she says. This obsession with old things has in fact turned this designer into something of a flea market hunter. “Tim (my husband) and I just love strolling along flea markets and vintage shops. In Delhi, too, I love to hang out at places like Chandni Chowk instead of some swanky mall. I love absorbing the culture of a particular place and trying to find interesting things. I collect a lot of objects like fabrics, textiles, even buttons and coins from these markets. I have thousands and thousands of such stuff.” A look at her collections like Punk Rajah and Industrial Deco are proof enough that her signature style is a juxtaposition of the traditional and the modern. “My signature style has never been an influence of just one era: in a single piece, you’ll find influences from the 20s to the 50s thrown in with Indian traditional jewellery and a little bit of punk and rock ’n’ roll,” says Mawi on hollywood and bollywood.
“When I start a collection, I normally don’t sketch it or think it out and then visualise it that way. I’m influenced by materials and things that I see while going through flea markets and somehow, they find a way into my collections and become an inspiration at some point,” she says.
Even though she has dressed a whole bevy of A-list Indian and international beauties, Mawi believes that a celebrity clientele is only a bonus. “Our work stands for itself... We don’t set out to dress stars, we create jewels that people would appreciate. But then we can’t avoid celebrities as we live in a culture that’s celeb-led – that comes with the territory,” she reasons. So, who in Bollywood she’d want to see her designs on? “Sonam Kapoor. She’s young and is establishing her own sense of style, so I’d design something pretty and feminine but not too edgy for her.”