The Maldives
Spanning 35,000 square miles of ocean and straddling the equator, the Maldives is made up of 1,192 islands. When creative director Shanan Campanaro visited, the lagoons teeming with sea life, the waves, and the endlessly mutable skies inspired the three patterns of the new Nalediva collection.
Guide by Shanan Campanaro
shop Nalediva“Nick and I fulfilled a dream come true by spending a week and a half living on a boat and traveling through the Maldives in search of surf. I figured that being on a boat in the ocean for a couple of weeks would be all about the feeling of the expanse of the sea. But really it’s the sky that surrounds you and envelops you…”
— Shanan
Maldives on land
Spanning 26 atolls and 35,000 square miles of ocean, the Maldives is made up of 1,192 islands. Here are three we visited.
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Male
The capital is Male, which isn’t really set up for tourists. The island is very traditional and conservative, so there’s no drinking allowed and few restaurant or hotel options. We walked around to get a feel for daily life there and found a surf contest for local kids, which was fun.
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Patina
The nearby Fari Islands are home to Patina, where we stayed in a room over turquoise water to get that dreamy Maldives experience. Don’t go expecting authentic cultural exposure – the restaurants serve Italian or Japanese or Indian, it’s crazy expensive, and no one is from the Maldives. But it is a sublime setting with epic snorkeling, beaches, and sunsets.
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Gulhi
Gulhi is another island we explored. We found white sand beaches, cute ice cream shops, a cool local swimwear designer, and a small market of traders.
“This trip was more about nature than culture. It was just insanely beautiful both below the sea and riding the waves above it!”
— Shanan
Maldives at sea
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Boat rides
Our boat and trip was organized by The Ocean Spell. The local guides were really cool and the waves were insane!
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Surf lessons
We surfed with coaches Kassia Meador and Leah Dawson of Salty Sensations – amazing teachers to learn from and fun surfers to watch in the water.
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Local artists
Our in-water photographer was Sarah Lee, who is an awesome artist. Who else could have caught me with a rainbow on a wave?
“While we were at sea, the sky was almost overwhelming. You can see a multitude of weather patterns from afar.”
— Shanan
Maldives in mind
This trip inspired the Nalediva collection, which is a word I came across when I was doing some research. In 1563, the Portuguese naturalist Garcia de Orta wrote, “I must tell you that I have heard it said that the natives do not call it Maldiva but Nalediva. In the Malabar language, nale means four and diva island. So that in that language, the word signifies ‘four islands,’ while we, corrupting the name, call it Maldiva.”
Inspired by The Maldives
The Nalediva collection comprises three patterns, Atoll, Shoal, and Empyrean.
