mahabis bring colour to Christmas

Words by
Andy Morris & Simon Brooke

6th December 2021

'Tis the season for ill-advised slipper shopping. But consider this: if you gift a pair of mahabis mules instead, the supremely comfortable luxury footwear that has revolutionised the market since 2014, you'll get a much more positive reaction. To mark their most colourful collection yet - and Simon Brooke's piece on "dopamine dressing" in SPHERE's winter issue - we asked mahabis' CEO Iain Martin for his thoughts on why bold colours can brighten your day.

Why do bright colours appeal to you?
We wanted to shake up the slipper category and bring a fresh look and feel to indoor footwear, as opposed to traditional tartan and dull colour styles. mahabis crafts products that are fit for design-conscious individuals in multifunctional homes; with a collection that is inspired by Scandinavian aesthetics, married with conscious materials and superior comfort. We deliver a confident, modern design and the use of our ever-growing palette of colour combinations is key to that.

What opportunities do bright colours present to designers?
There is quite a skill to getting the colours just right. We are constantly testing new palettes and designs with our run of special edition styles throughout the year, which allows us to learn what works. We pride ourselves in always listening to our customer feedback, and there are definitely some customers who enjoy more extroverted colours and others that prefer something more tonal. Our designs take into consideration what our customers want – we feel our collection offers a perfectly balanced range. 

How do they influence your choice of materials - and vice versa?
For our curve slipper and our newest addition to the mahabis family: the mahabis alto, we switched the sole material to a natural rubber. We started experimenting with this material as it's more sustainable than other sole materials, but in doing so we were excited by the depth and variation of punchy colour combinations that we're able to achieve. Our Heckla Orange and Santorini Blue soles have been notable favourites with our customers recently.

A lot of designers seem to be using these bright block colours for SS22 - why do you think this is?
mahabis have always had bright block colour options in the range - from the mahabis Classics to the Curve and Mule styles - there's plenty of choice. Our Skane Yellow x Light Grey slipper has become something of a signature product, and I do think that as we emerge from the pandemic, there is something refreshingly uplifting about a strong bright splash of colour. There's nothing quite like arriving back from a trip and seeing your trusted grey and yellow slippers by the door to say: 'Welcome Home'."

From £99. mahabis.com