SUNSURF SS39134 KEONI OF HAWAII “WAIKIKI REEF” by JOHN MEIGS

John Meigs was born in Chicago, Illinois, on the American mainland.

He studied drawing at the Art Institute of Chicago and journalism at the University of Redlands in Southern California and UCLA.

He later worked as a reporter for the Old Los Angeles United Press, and in 1938 moved to Hawaii, where he worked in the art department of the Honolulu Advertiser, and began designing textiles around 1940.

Meigs' innovative designs quickly caught the eye of an aloha shirt manufacturer, and he began receiving design requests.

He then joined the navy during the war and visited Tahiti, a place associated with the painter Paul Gauguin, where he became fascinated with Polynesian culture.

After being discharged from the military in 1947, he returned to Hawaii and began working in public relations for TransPacific Airlines while preparing to pursue a career in design.

Word spread like wildfire, and he began receiving orders not only from Hawaiian manufacturers, but also from major fabric wholesalers on the US mainland, such as Conn Hallmarks (Kohama) and Tamburo Fabrics .

He set up a studio in his home and created over 400 designs under the name Keoni Meigs, a textile designer .

One of them is the "WAIKIKI REEF," which is Sunsurf's first reissue.

The design was made to order by Tamburro Fabrics at the time , and Meigs was later put in charge of the company's Hawaiian prints, producing many popular pieces.

This eventually developed into an aloha shirt boom across America.

Meigs's aloha shirt designs were featured prominently in the catalogs of the nationwide department store Sears, and he reigned supreme in Hawaiian textile design.

In 1996, we at Sunsurf learned that John Meigs, the legendary textile designer who left his mark on Hawaiian fashion history, was still alive. 

Upon visiting the site, I discovered that he had an unpublished work he had painted in the 1940s.

Based on these design drawings, the legendary works were commercialized under the name "Keoni of Hawaii," and John Meigs resumed designing aloha shirts.

He also created new designs, supporting the brand.

However, as he grew older, the burden on him increased year by year, and since 2001, artists who shared his aspirations have been commissioning his works.

This product will be delivered in a special edition box.

Model: Male, 170cm, wearing size M

Title: “WAIKIKI REEF”

Author: John Meigs

Material: Filament rayon

Print: Discharge printing

Design Pattern: All-Over Pattern

Buttons: Coconut buttons