Here’s How Patrick Mavros Draws Inspiration From Wildlife To Create Exquisite Accessories

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Delving deeper into the African fashion industry, it is astounding to see various fashion brands that channel wholeheartedly the African culture or environment.

Read More: Here’s How Gender-Fluid Brand, Kenneth Ize, Employs Traditional Techniques And Materials To Create Stunning Designs.

Whether it is to create accessories, just like AAKS using Raffia, or perhaps outfits using traditional fabrics like Maki Oh, African fashion brands are making use of methods and processes to create unique products. One fashion brand that does this as well is the Patrick Mavros brand.

What aspect of the African culture do they channel to create their unique products? And why can the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, not get enough of their products?



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The ultimate travel accessory for adventuring ladies and gentlemen. 🗺 Discover our range of belts & buckles. Which is your favourite?

A post shared by Patrick Mavros (@patrickmavros) on Oct 16, 2020 at 10:34am PDT

About Patrick Mavros

Patrick Mavros is an African family-owned fashion brand whose unique luxury products and experiences represent a safari of adventure, romance and above all, unquestionable quality. The brand was founded in 1980 by Patrick Mavros in Zimbabwe when he gifted his wife, Catja Mavros a pair of earrings he had personally sculpted for her, and many people demanded for it.

The brand creates unique men’s and lady’s jewelry such as bracelets, rings, necklaces and more, beautiful sculptures, home pieces and candelabras.

As you may already know, in fashion businesses, it is easier to pass down the business reins to other members of the family if those members have been brought up with the intimate knowledge and understanding of the business. And this is one of the things that helped the Patrick Mavros brand.

The couple’s four sons grew up spending all their spare time in the studio and workshop where they helped experiment with designing and material selection, and now the fashion brand is being run by the entire family.

“Whether it’s my dad, mum, one of my brothers or me, I think it’s crucial to the DNA of our company that we design something that we would want to wear ourselves, or give to our wives or girlfriends to wear.” – Alexander Mavros, son of Patrick Mavros.

Execution 

The fashion brand owners, which are known for their extraordinary expertise in jewellery design, are usually inspired by nature that range from literally ants to elephants, and each creation has its own unique story that adds considerably to its charm and value. 

Although founded in Zimbabwe, the brand’s atelier lies in Beau Plan in the heart of Mauritius. It is an historic 160-year old metal foundry with a range of master craftsmen who create intricate pieces of art. Ancient and modern techniques are used in tandem to produce the wonderful collections inspired by the beauty of Mauritius and the African wildlife and culture, and just like Alexander Mavros shared,

“Depending on the piece, we may do a brief sketch. But as a family, we tend to start sculpting right away. Many brands have a lot of sketch revisions when creating a new piece, but we’re very hands-in, so we tend to skip that stage.”

Over the years, the brand has continued to improve in their design quality by using natural gemstones, diamonds, 18 carat yellow gold, in addition to the sterling silver they are known for.



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Intricately designed, we have a Wire Cuff Bracelet for every woman… Our Wire Cuffs are often worn together, and look powerful as a Safari Stack! ✨ Which is your favourite?

A post shared by Patrick Mavros (@patrickmavros) on Sep 11, 2020 at 11:02am PDT

Top Competitors

Loza Maleombho

Loza Maleombho is a fashion brand based in Cote d’Ivoire that bridges Ivorian tradition with modern tradition to design exquisite accessories and footwear. The designs which are inspired largely by Ivorian tribal aesthetics are handmade using the finest sustainable materials which include organic cotton, velvet and many more.

The fashion brand also caters to a host of celebrities including Beyoncé, and has acquired a lot of awards since 2012 when it was launched.

Okhtein

Okhtein is an Egyptian fashion brand that designs statement accessories by utilising sustainable materials that will last in any wardrobe. The fashion brand, just like other African fashion brands, channels the Egyptian culture and heritage to design these pieces which include belts, clutches, rings and many more.

The family-owned label has over the years set new trends, promote Egyptian artistry, as well as present new and unique designs to the world. Emma Stone, Emma Watson, even Beyoncé are some of the caliber of celebrities the brand boasts of.

Target Audience

The products in this fashion brand cater for both men and women, and some of them include bracelets, earrings, cuff links, buckles, belts and so much more.

On numerous occasions, Kate Middleton, the Duchess Of Cambridge has worn the handcrafted jewelry during several virtual events, and this has further amplified the recognition of the brand.

Although the pieces are not limited, if as a fashionista, you are looking for something unique that would make a bold statement, and can also be traced back to the African roots, the Patrick Mavros brand surely has something for you.

How Patrick Mavros Is Helping African Communities 

The family’s passion for nature and wildlife is reflected through their dedication to support the conservation of endangered species. Their fashion collections such as The Mauritian Wildlife Collection usually portray species of animals that are going extinct.



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✨ᴍɪɴɪ ʀɪɴɢ ᴍᴏɴᴅᴀʏ✨ See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. 🙈🙉🙊 Taking on the wilder side of life “For the rebellious” #MiniRingMonday

A post shared by Patrick Mavros (@patrickmavros) on Aug 17, 2020 at 10:03am PDT

“When we designed the Mauritian Wildlife Collection, we wanted to have pieces of jewelry that portray the endangered species and hope that we would be able to educate and sensitize our customers about how close these species are to extinction if the Mauritian Wildlife isn’t there to look after them.” – Forbes Mavros, son of Patrick Mavros

The brand, from the sales of specific products, donates a specific percentage to the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, an NGO which is exclusively concerned with saving threatened Mauritian species through the restoration of entire ecosystems.

The Patrick Mavros brand is one that uses ancient techniques such as the lost wax casting technique and unique materials to produce exquisite accessories, while drawing inspiration from the wildlife in Africa. ​