Back in April, we asked all of our Stardoll members on both the Star Blog and on Twitter to send in their questions about MAWI, the real brand jewelry shop now in Starplaza, too. And MAWI answered!

Mawi Keivom, creator, designer and force behind MAWI London, chose from some of the many questions sent in by our Stardoll members to answer in the post below. Enjoy!


Q. What's your inspiration for your work? Was there any specific theme that you love? (asked by many!)

A. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to experience diverse cultures. I was born in India but grew up in Africa, the middle East, Europe, Asia and the US. This had been a constant source of inspiration and it has defined my approach to design. My influences are global and I like mixing diverse elements all at once to create something eclectic, original and new. I love missing tribal with punk, English heritage with ethnic /Indian royal themes etc. my work is all about the juxtaposition.

Q. my question would be : how would you describe your brand, yourself,your style,and your art in general? xXsophiie.luvXx

A. My philosophy is to keep it fun and interesting. The strength of Mawi is the uniqueness of the product, the consistency and the craftsmanship. It’s a juxtaposition of different eras, ideas and cultures. The classic Mawi style incorporates a mix of heritage, industrial and sculptural influences with a rebellious edge. My personal style is a mix – firstly I dress for comfort and that’s always my main consideration. Like my jewels - I love mixing masculine with feminine, soft a pretty thrown in with a punk and grunge aesthetic, vintage with designer, ethnic and tribal elements mixed with an industrial and architectural pieces. I’m also obsessed with brother creepers. I live in them and have about 15 different pairs. Even thought my shoe collection is vast creepers take centre stage and have become my signature look.

Q. What things have inspired you to create the jewerly of Mawi, such as the new Pretty Tough collection? What do you think makes Mawi distinguishable from other jewelry and accessories? (I also posted these in Twitter, just in case.) Lilyqi

A. Architecture, art, music, people, cultures, cinema all help to inspire and influence my taste. I like extreme opposites. I often mix masculine and feminine elements, pretty and tough, glam and grunge, tribal and modern. It’s all about opposites attracting. Our jewels are chic, elegant and timeless whilst managing to stay directional and fashion forward. We constantly push boundaries and bring new ideas and concepts to the industry. A lot of thought and research goes into our creations. We successfully blend different eras and genres and disciplines and whilst we take inspiration from the past we put our own spin and make it contemporary and fresh. I would describe it as industrial luxe meets punk meets granny chic.

Q. if you could choose anyone, living or dead to create an iconic piece of jewellery for, who would you choose? CKRebelDiamonds

A. The Queen (of England). That would be a dream come true. I would create an amazing piece for her using all the signature MAWI trimmings - industrial chain, skulls, pearls, crytals and spikes with my version of granny chic edginess. For most of us on stardoll, owning our first piece of Mawi jewellery will be the start of a lifelong addiction.

Q. How does your jewellry evolve from collection to collection whilst inclding and transcending seasonal changes????? bambicute66

A. There is always a handwriting and a common thread that runs through regardless of the themes or influences. We successfully blend different eras and genres and disciplines and whilst we take inspiration from the past we put our own spin and make it contemporary and new. It’s brave, it’s strong, it’s unique and it’s honest. And always with a renewed vision every season. It’s continuously evolving without ever losing it’s signature style.


You can find all the MAWI jewelry on Stardoll here!