About The Puti Tai Nobia Collection
The Puti Tai Nobia legend is inspired by my nana's stories of old Malesso' romance. Growing up, she would tell us fondly of the serenades that occurred nightly outside her window. How multiple boys would come and take turns in the street singing and playing music sometimes with an entourage of cousins or friends. One of those boys was my grandfather, her next-door neighbor, whom she eventually married. She would always laugh and tell us how she had multiple boys from various villages travel down to serenade her. One suitor even held up a radio to the window because he couldn't sing. Sometimes I catch myself wondering if the radio serenade had actually happened. I love it when a story sticks with me long after I first hear it; the perfect qualities of a captivating legend.
I wish I could travel back in time just to watch it all unfold. To see my nana at the age my cousins and I are now. Today, serenades like my nana described feel so far from our reality. My generation spends our time wondering if we will get a text back, NOT which village boys will show up to sing us to sleep.
The Puti Tai Nobia legend is my imagination of what I would see if I could witness my nana as a young girl. It is my love letter to her. The Puti Tai Nobia is both the girl I wish I could be and everything I love about the women around me. The Puti Tai Nobia legend is inspired by all the women in my life.It is my serenade to them and all that they represent and all that I can't help but admire. It is my love letter to all the awesome women who raised me, like my mom and my aunties. It is a love letter to my sisters, cousins, and friends. It is the laughter and the tears we have shared together.
With this collection and this story, I wanted to create something for the ladies. Something that speaks of their brilliance and their resilience. This is my attempt.
I used the puti tai nobiu flowers because I wanted to reclaim them in new ways. As a traditional weaver and artist, to be able to make use of invasive plants is something I believe to be essential to our island sustainability and self-determination.
I also wanted to reclaim the puti tai nobiu for the girls. I wanted to celebrate the ways we support each other through life. I wanted to share a little bit of the love my family always gave us as young girls. Growing up, and to this day, my family has always made me feel so treasured. It is the feeling I always hope to give my sisters, cousins, and friends when they are experiencing difficult times and heartbreaks.
To prepare this collection, I realized right away I would need help. I sent a quick message to my ultimate Pasifika fashion muse and friend Shannon McManus, aka the one and only MICROCHILD. In the time it took her to reply, I had several panic attacks, and I seriously considered deleting the messages and hiding forever (you know, as creatives do when sharing ideas for the first time). She not only agreed but also volunteeredtold Siobhon for photos. Truly a dream team. To Siobhon, Shannon and John, my models Lores and Tini: THANK YOU FROM MALESSO’ AND BEYOND.
Gathered together in my backyard we took all the amazing photos and videos for the collection. With some food, drinks, and laughter (and my cousin Kya, who arrived fashionably late--Puti tai nobia are always busy post-photoshoot), we created a Puti Tai Nobia playlist. Everyone suggested their Puti Tai Nobia song. Fair warning: I had to finalize the playlist, and while it’s all 100% songs I would dedicate to a Puti Tai Nobia in my life, calling it a “playlist” might be a little bit too generous. If you listen, you will quickly find that this playlist has no genre, and you might start wondering if I have any clue how a playlist should work. A valid question. Hopefully, you find a song for you, or for a Puti Tai Nobia in your life; a modern serenade from the girls to the girls.
A love letter, a modern serenade, a little physical reminder. I hope you wear these earrings and know how treasured you are. I hope these earrings and songs can be something you give to the women in your life to say "I love you. You’re my Puti Tai Nobia".
- Lia
