Its name is relevant. ?Peace Angels? is there to make people happy. ?My greatest reward is to see people coming into my shops and buying what the team has designed. This means they are satisfied with our garments and they will be pleased to be wearing them,? explains Gaetano Gnudi right away.

The owner of the eight ?Peace Angels? shops throughout the island is one of those with a deadpan face; you never really know if he is joking or if he is talking seriously but you can be certain of one thing after sharing a few moments with him: he loves creating clothes with the help of his ?hard-working dedicated team?.

When he opened Peace Angels in a small house in Beau-Bassin with his ?right-hand man? Arnaud Marris eight years ago, Gaetano wanted to target the local market. ?Many brands were more or less relying on tourists for their business. I wanted to create something for young Mauritians who wished to be trendy.? And it seems the fruitful concept has not changed so much. Peace Angels has not specialised in street wear or in smart wear. ?All kinds of people no matter what their age should get something here for all occasions.?

If his clothes seem to have found a clientele both in Mauritius and abroad, he nevertheless feels frustrated by the hardest species to satisfy: girls. ?We have started to produce girls? and women?s garments but only on a small scale. We would like to go further with this section but it is so difficult to know what they like,? he admits.

Next step: politics

Even though many people have adhered to the brand, Gaetano refuses to speak of his company as a ?successful? one. ?When we start to compete with Dolce & Gabbana then we could say we are successful,? he says with a ?serious smile?. They have already achieved some of their goals: Peace Angels has eight shops around the country, one in Reunion, and exports to France. But Gaetano wants to open more of them: ten in Mauritius and four on the neighbouring island would be a good deal for him.

But the designer-owner has always had another dream, which he intends to fulfil within the next two or three years. ?I am going to start in politics.? The aim is not ? at least immediately ? to set out a list of candidates for the elections. ?I would like to build up a team that would be able to voice out what would be beneficial to the country. I have always been interested in politics. We live in such an amazing country and I sometimes feel frustrated because I want to do something for it.?

So what would politics mean, according to Gaetano Gnudi? ?The concept is that the country should be run like a company where all citizens would be like employees who would all benefit from the profits.? But the designer also insists on one particular aspect of the way a country should be governed, ?Every decision should relate to the environment.?

If his desire to enter politics might appear quite ?crazy? at first sight, this decision actually fits perfectly well in the context of his company?s policy. The leitmotiv of the brand is ?More than just fashion?. It is much more about ?making people happy? by offering them fashionable clothes, ?designed with love and care?.

?COUNTERFEITING IS PART OF THE GAME?

?I think it is fabulous that people can copy me. I would even have found it even more vexing if I weren?t copied?? Gaetano first declared, when asked what he thinks of the ?black market? of counterfeit products in Mauritius. If Gaetano Gnuni appears so unconcerned by a problem that tends to attack all brands in Mauritius, it is simply because he is slowly and quietly preparing his counter-attack. ?I know this is part of the job. No, it is part of my job to go to court and make sure my products remain unique? Until then, I am playing the game,? he simply says with a smile. ?I try not to take it too seriously but I am sure it must not give a good impression to visitors who must believe such an original country is not capable of making original clothes?? he adds.