Mayotte — The Creation
Maio is one of the ten islands of Cape Verde — a flat, arid island, swept by trade winds, bordered by white sandy beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Cape Verdeans have an expression to describe their relationship to life: morabeza — a sweetness of life mixed with melancholy, a joy that knows what it has cost.
It is an island that carries all the colors of the world in its history — Portuguese navigators, African slaves, Arab merchants, pirates of all nationalities.
Everything got mixed there, on this piece of land in the middle of the Atlantic.
Maio carries this archipelago — and all its colors.
The construction unfolds in very distinct horizontal bands in a diamond net stitch — a chromatic sequence that tells a story.
The dense black upper yoke authoritatively sets the frame, the slightly flared round neck and wide black net straps rigorously frame the silhouette.
Then the colors arrive. Black, bright red, white — three acts of the same overture.
And then, the wide rainbow band explodes: light green, purple, sky blue, orange, fuchsia pink, pale pink, white — all the colors of the archipelago gathered in a single band.
Red, then the wide final black band closes the composition with the same authority with which it opened.
Maio is worn over a black swimsuit for total coherence. With white sandals for contrast, colorful flip-flops to extend the rainbow. By the sea, at a festival, on a summer evening.
Maio is the dress that carries an entire archipelago.
Entirely hand-crocheted in my French workshop.
Exclusive Cachalabibi creation — Unique piece, only one in the world.