mahabis and the return of the slipper

We’ve all been there, walked out of the house blissfully unaware of the all too comfy slipper cradling each foot and the added disappointment when you, or your overly vigilant neighbour, notices. Assumed with warmth and wellbeing, few shoes have succeeded to rival the slipper. In fact, here is a shoe lacking any new means of contemporary design in a very long time, until now. Brought to you by mahabis, a brand whose mission to reinvent one of the greatest egalitarian types of footwear has trickled into a formidable brand of redesigning and redefining lifestyle, finally inviting us to slow down, to stop and to take pleasure in one of life’s greater comforts and downright necessities that is downtime.

mahabis appreciates that much of our time spent outside profoundly impacts how we enjoy our time inside and uses the slipper to skillfully bridge the two together. In recognising that tradition and modernity can go hand in hand, mahabis asked, why must we stick to tradition when the slipper could be used inside and out? And quite rightly so, for when winter turns to spring and beach days turn to bonfires, we forget that our small toes still need that little bit of extra warmth.

Gone are the days when sipping on your coffee in your slippers could only be encountered in your home, the mahabis shoe allows you to do this anywhere and everywhere and is quickly becoming the must-have, go to form of footwear. In a world that’s become so fast paced it is often easy to neglect life’s simplest means, means that are imperceptibly impacting our daily lives and wellbeing and mahabis does well to challenge that, by way of slipper. They’ve brought the inside out, they’ve invited the outside in and simultaneously combined it with a life of adventure, photography, style and culture, to produce a whole design philosophy that’s ready to take the world by storm and we here at ROOMS love it.

 I caught up with mahabis founder Ankur Shah, to find out more.

Hi Ankur, tell me a little about yourself and the initial stages of mahabis.

I started my career as a criminal barrister, then meandered into a technology business which after selling that business left me with some time on my hands. That’s when I discovered this massive, but hidden world of slippers. A multi-billion dollar industry with a brand no one was excited about and a product set that was mundane and boring. I thought, hey, let’s try and change that. I was keen to build a lifestyle brand that encapsulated what life was all about, the downtime after the uptime.

And why slippers?

Slippers are an age-old product. They represent something so important. The idea of switching off. We spend billions on better performance, being faster, losing weight, getting stronger. But what about the things in life that let us tune-in whilst tuning out? Relaxing. Chilling out. I wanted to create a product that represented that, both aesthetically and functionally too. I hope we’re going some way to achieve that.

Briefly speak me through the design process of the mahabis slipper. Did the initial design change a lot?

Yes massively. If you saw the original ones you’d be amazed at how far we’ve come. We had the joy of iterating our designs with some of the best young designers in Europe. We played with 3d printing. Applied age-old manufacturing techniques. Whilst the journey was a roller coaster, it was also incredibly inspiring. We’ve incorporated a range of innovative techniques but have strived for a no-fuss, clean and minimal design. The trademark mahabis silhouette is something we have maintained throughout. For us the art of reduction was a hard fought right.

You are based in London but the shoes seem to adopt a very Scandinavian, minimalist approach. Has Scandinavia always been a source of inspiration along the journey?

It has, our slippers and soles are named after Scandinavian towns and cities.  We love the quintessentially minimalist aesthetic that is associated with Scandinavian countries, but also the perception of lifestyle minimalism, that less is more. In every sense.

Who is your target audience?

The bit of you that wants to relax. And what amazed us was how broad the cross-section was that identified with that. We talk a lot about redesigning downtime. And we’ve found that people from all age groups, evenly split across the genders, and people from all around the world really connect with that sentiment.

As much as it is a footwear brand, mahabis seems to adopt a whole lifestyle, which is evident in the brand’s imagery and the assisting online blog that you have (which I love!) Do you like to travel yourself?

Definitely, we’ve been global from day one. Our obsession is with embedding ourselves in as many places as possible, I think we’ve had customers from over 90+ countries so far. 

Some of our team are working in Ibiza as we speak! We’ve shifted some of the office there for a week, because we may or may not be working on a summer version…shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Your slippers have been extremely popular, had you expected the company to take off as quickly as it has?  

We knew there was a market there - the challenge was executing on our vision - as we knew that if we could connect with people on the sentiments we so strongly believed in then we’d have a chance.

We surpassed the 10,000 pair mark after just a handful of months, putting us ahead of amazing brands like TOMs. We’re really excited about where it goes from here.

And what’s in store for the future? Do you see mahabis sticking to its origins as a footwear brand or expanding?

We’re working on so much fun stuff, we think you’re going to love it! We’ll be sure to keep you updated, but keep a close eye as things are coming really, really soon…

All images via © mahabis

Nok Nok. Who’s there?

Nok Nok is a vibrant new take on the classic denim jean that has sparked excitement in the creative hub of East London. Nok Nok is an experimental take on how we see and wear our favorite piece of clothing, drawing on inspiration from classic British tailoring and merging them with new washes and techniques inspired by vintage punk, surf and skate style. Nok Nok sources their denim fabrics from Okayama, Japan to provide a solid range of T-shirt.

ROOMS had the privilege to speak to the head designer and founder Angel Nokonoko about his denim collection, why he loves Dalston and what advice he can give to aspiring fashion designers.

How would you describe your company Nok Nok?

Nok Nok is an extension of myself, fun, interesting, and fresh, different with an edge as I say.

How did you get started designing, was this a childhood dream, were you always interested in a career in fashion?

Well since my nightlife times in Ibiza as a teen I use to make and customized t-shirts and jeans for my friends before going raving. It wasn’t really a childhood dream to be honest, I wanted to be a footballer, but I enjoyed making clothes, cutting them, putting studs, it was a great way of expressing myself, like a painting or a picture you want to send a friend or recreate a feeling that you have deep down.

You are a designer and a DJ; do you draw inspiration for designing from music too?

I draw inspiration from anything that I connect with in on spiritual a physical level. I will feel an instant urge to wright it down, draw it or taking a pic. But yeah music it’s a great source of inspiration, same as movies, I love dramas! I don’t really consider myself a DJ out of respect of some of my good friends that are masters in this craft. I would say I’m a good tune selector with a good eye to feel what people want to listen. But funny enough lately I’m djing every weekend with a monthly residency for Weekend Gang Party and I have a weekly radio show at Dejavufm on Thursday.

You are based in East London but you are originally from Ibiza, how are the two cultures different and how have they influenced your fashion designs?

I think East London is a bigger Ibiza, there’s so much energy, I love living in Dalston. I feel so energized and inspired whenever I’m out, the mixture of cultures and styles are great from Turkish to Jamaicans, from fashionistas to skaters and rockers... It’s great and the nightlife it’s pretty good, so it reminds me of Ibiza, the happy vibes… the mixture of people. This influences my work constantly, I like to create pieces that people can wear on a night out, cool rock & roll, sexy and also can wear them to the beach during the day.

Are there any other designers or places of interest in London you get inspiration from?

Nowadays I don’t really follow or check other designers I rather check painters, sculptures, dancers, singers! I draw inspiration from their style, personality & aura... London is great for inspiration you can go to Soho and the energy is so strong or you can go to Stamford hill and feel like you are in a totally different country but this is so beautiful and inspiring. 

I understand you are a Central Saint Martins alumni, what kind of advice would you give to a young fashion student inspiring to have their own fashion company?

My time in Saint Martins was some of the best years in London. I used to organize parties for all the students and sometimes teachers used to come down so people used to know me for that. But I also worked really hard; I would say work hard but also learn as much as you can, meet people that can give you good advice, be confident in your dream, don’t let anyone tell you can’t do it! Learn from your mistakes, but above all have fun while you are building you company!! It’s so exciting.

You place a lot of value in detail in your denim collection, from floral fabrics lining the interior to good quality sourced fabrics from Japan, how important is detail for you in design?

Angel Nokonoko by  Vlady Vala

I love detail; this comes from the fact that I’m a menswear designer first, so I like to focus on small hidden details. It’s what shows that you have been thinking and studying your design, that there’s a balance and reasoning behind it all. I believe quality is very important; it’s a key point on your brand, especially for small brands, the way you are able to compete is by introducing interesting cool details and quality. I have always been in love with Japan, its culture, people and way of life, they are perfectionist when it comes to craftsmanship, and so quality there is very important.

We are doing a big event in Tokyo in June for my brand in partnership with Weekend Gang Party and 6Tribes.com

What are your plans for your brand for the next year?

I have so many plans for the brand, sky is the limit! We want to get stocked at some big retailers in London, we are talking with a few and have meetings; in addition we are working in a licensing deal for a distribution company in Canada so that will help lift the business up. But for me fashion is just one side of the brand, I would like to expand it to entertainment, like a lounge/shop, a radio station and few other things…

Earn some fashion points by checking out Nok Nok denim designs

All photos © Nok Nok denim and Angel Nokonoko

Nok Nok

Greg Barth: Icons of the Unpredictable

The cover artist of ROOMS 17 uncovered

Greg Barth is a London based award winning artist and director from Geneva, Switzerland, and the cover artist of our brand new issue, ROOMS 17 -- photographed by Alexandra Uhart.

Barth is known for producing work that combines Surrealism, Minimalism and Pop. His work seemed perfect for ROOMS 17’s tagline: ‘Who decides what you see?’ This question combined with Barth’s image creates a cover that approaches both art and politics.

Is the mask an act of censorship or an act of art?   

A mask covers a person’s face. Who put the mask there? Is he forced to wear it, or is he willing? Why are his eyes covered up? What doesn’t he want to see? The mask could be obscuring his vision of the outside world, preventing him from seeing something. Or, the mask could be showing him something; inside the mask could be a digital screen or images, which showcases something, new and wondrous to him.

In either case the question still throws up political questions, both about state and about art. Thankfully in most countries, the state cannot control what you watch. This came to the fore when working on this issue of ROOMS, as many in the cultural world where still reeling from incident surrounding the infamous film ‘The Interview’. In art, the question of ‘Who decides what you see?’ is bound up is questions and theories surrounding the artist. Ultimately, when viewing an artwork the viewer’s thoughts return to the artist and why they created the work: ‘what do they want me to see?’ However, I would suggest more emphasis needs to be put on the viewer and what they can add to the work, rather than what they need to see. In this instance the same can be applied to our cultural freedom. I was encouraged when I saw members of the public, including the heads of film industries, critics and cinemagoers protesting and wanting to see the film. In the end we all have to stand up to our cultural freedom. We have a right to choose to look.

Jesc Bunyard interviews Greg Barth in our new issue ROOMS 17, Who decides what you see?

Greg Barth