MAREVAKA was born from an absence, and from the love that remains after it. Losing my grandfather drew me back towards Madagascar, in search of what still connected me to him. There, raffia, patient gestures and a name whispered in my ear gave this story a form.
What love leaves within us
The House began with an intimate bond, far from any calculation. It began in grief, with a need to give shape to what remained. My grandfather’s passing made the tenderness he had given me feel even more vivid. That love called for a form that was intimate, useful and alive. It was seeking a way to continue.
The form emerged slowly as I returned towards Madagascar. All I knew was that it was bringing me back to part of my history, to Madagascar, and to a beauty I refused to reduce to familiar clichés.
Returning to Madagascar
MAREVAKA took shape through a return to Madagascar and an encounter with raffia. It was there that I met this material. Returning placed it before me again, alongside patient gestures and the quiet strength of the women who know how to bring a form into being from a plant fibre.
This connection respects the distance and each person’s place. The designs are conceived in France. The pieces are handmade in Madagascar. Between the two lies the dialogue needed for an intention to respect both the material and the craft.
A name whispered in my ear
The name MAREVAKA was whispered in my ear. In Malagasy, it evokes what is radiant, richly coloured and elegant. The memory of Madagascar inspires a restrained palette drawn from earth, light and natural fibres. It speaks of an inner radiance and a quiet presence.
This meaning accompanies an aesthetic of restraint: sand, white, ink, light and the texture of raffia. Simplicity lets life move through the material. It gives it room.
Giving a bond its form
Raffia became the language of the House because it brings together everything I wanted to hold close: Madagascar, the hand, time, light and use. Crochet reveals its texture, shades and suppleness. It brings those nuances into order and lets the rhythm of the stitches show.
MAREVAKA moves forward in small batches, with a wish to speak honestly and make with care. Each piece carries an intimate story and naturally joins the life of the person who chooses it. It is made to enter a life, to accompany a face, a movement, an everyday moment.
