Hawi and Rose Collection: Big Island Beginnings

This one feels extra special.

The Hawi/Rose Collection was born on my honeymoon with Austin when I took him home to Big Island. We were driving the Kohala coast, winding up through that sleepy little town of Hawi, stopping at Pololū lookout, and I felt so connected to the place that raised me. Even though I’ve been on Oʻahu for a long time now, my family is originally from Kealakekua, and Big Island will always feel like home.

The "HAWI" (hah-vee) print itself is green and pink, with hand-drawn flowers (the same ones that lived on our packaging for four years!) and a few hidden mōʻo tucked in. Austin and I sat on this design for years before bringing it to life. It feels like something out of my journal: playful, trippy, and deeply personal. Austin is the best at drawing prints like that. Some Tai Swim prints are mine, some are his, and some are collaborations, but this one really carries Austin’s touch as an artist. I love that.

What makes this collection even more meaningful is how it ties into our brand’s journey. When we first launched in 2021, the Devin set existed in just one color and three sizes. Now, the Devin set and so many of our other styles have been completely redesigned and reborn as part of the Hawi/Rose drop. This whole year has been about improving on the pieces that made us who we are and taking the things our community loved first by refining them until they feel perfect.

The Rose solid ribbed color ties the whole drop together: soft, striking, and so easy to mix and match with the Hawi print. To me, this collection feels like being 12 or 13 again, running around in skimpy little bikinis, just feeling free and at home by the ocean. It’s nostalgic in the best way.

Hawi/Rose is playful, happy, and deeply rooted in my childhood memories. It feels like a little love letter to the Big Island, to my family, and to the early days of Tai Swim. And as we head toward the end of 2025, with just one more drop to go, I’m feeling so grateful. Grateful for the chance to keep growing, to share my home through our prints, and to be surrounded by a community that loves our bikinis as much as I do.

Arriving this September!

Shop the Hawi Collection and Shop the Rose Collection

Love,
Tai + Austin