Left, ZikoAfrika earrings made of green neon perspex and brass and
right, a Poetic Trends statement necklace. PHOTOS | COURTESY | MWIKALI
LATI
By Mwikali Lati
With so many possible interpretations of
African-inspired jewellery, it is not surprising that three young
hand-crafted African brands —Poetic Trends, Nawalika and ZikoAfrika—
are housed together at Mofti shop at the New Muthaiga Shopping Mall.
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“In this age we are all exposed to various cultures. As
globe trotters, many of us have lived in different parts of the world
and our styles are influenced by global trends. ‘Where cultures meet’
is what I design with an element of Africa in it.
“The richness of African cultures inspires me and it is great to use these elements,” says Urvi Shah of Poetic Trends.
She says she started designing and making jewellery at the beginning of this year.
Meanwhile sisters Sisi King and Elle King launched
ZikoAfrika in November 2013 after two years of working on the concept.
They ventured into this business after designing Perspex zip pulls for
their bags. The bags will be out soon.
“Africa has an incredibly rich history of jewellery
craftsmanship about which little is known. Through our designs we want
to showcase this heritage in a modern context, as well as challenge the
prevailing view of the continent,” says Ms Sisi King.
In their first collection, they used a lot of
Tuareg influences— taking the iconic Ingall Cross and Tisek rings,
reworking them using unadorned brass in place of traditional etchings
and adding neon Perspex.
Shapes
“Our central aesthetic is clean and modern. We
focus on geometric shapes and a very deliberate colour palette to
reinforce that sense of modernity and encourage consumers to view our
products outside of a stereotypical African context,” explains Ms King.
Launched in April 2014, Nawalika’s mother and
daughter pair – Celine Verwiel and Michelle Verwiel – says the brand is
inspired mainly by the African people, their traditional dresses and by
the environment.
“The style is raw, simple but bold. This is
reflected directly in our beautiful surroundings. Nawalika’s core
aesthetic lies in the simplicity and rawness of both the materials and
design ,” says Ms Michelle Verwiel.
They have taken a different approach to the design
and manufacture of the accessories, including belts, bags, bracelets,
necklaces and earrings that are individual in concept and vision.
“African-inspired accessories grew from our
heritage in both East Africa and from our European roots.. Our European
background also pushed us towards contemporary African design.
Nawalika’s style perfectly reflects this — bold, natural curves and
tribal lines,” says Ms Verwiel.
“Nawalika’s vision is to be as sustainable as
possible— the design process enables us to incorporate the off-cut
leathers for other accessories. We also use recycled and raw materials.
The current range uses aluminium and brass metals fused with different
types of leathers and suede. This results in a chic yet industrial
look.”
With each brand picking different elements from Africa for inspiration, the target customer is different.
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