The birth of our Textile story
The birth story of the art used to design Le'a Makaha's tops and leggings🌺
Shu2, a painter living in Hawaii, set out on a five-month voyage to the islands of the South Pacific
on a small yacht in 2018 to fulfill a longtime dream.
【Ports of Call】
Marquesas Islands - Tuamotu Islands - Society Islands - Cook Islands -Niue Island
It was a journey that drew on the history of the ancient Polynesians, who canoed across the islands of the Pacific Ocean in search of a new home and ended up in the Hawaiian Islands in the far North Pacific.
[記念講演]ポリネシア考古学一 ハワイ人のルーツを探るより引用
Inspired by the nature of the islands and the art of the natives,
he left behind many drawings during his voyage.
In this work, one of them, he depicts the tropical plants that grow in clusters on the islands:
breadfruit trees, bananas, pineapples, plumeria, and hibiscus.
The characteristic of these plants is that they are not depicted as harvested fruits,
but as they are in their natural state, rooted in the earth.
In fact, he had planned to print the works he drew on this trip as woodblock prints
for pareo and stole fabrics, but soon after returning to Hawaii, he met a yoga instructor
and decided to offer them as textile designs for women's yoga wear.
"I hope people will wear it not only as yoga wear, but also as sportswear and everyday wear, and feel the breeze from this southern paradise." (Shu2)
