HISTORY REPEATED, BUT DIFFERENTLY
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In 1722 Maupiti Island, a small coral atoll with a volcanic island in its midst, located to the west of Bora Bora in French Polynesia, was discovered by Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen. Today, a sailing boat is still the way to Maupiti. Maupiti Island is still a ‘best kept secret’ in French Polynesia, closely located to the well known luxury resort Bora Bora. To be more exact, the island is located to the west of the Leeward Islands in French Polynesia. The central island of Maupiti has a high peak of 380 meters and a surface area of 11 square kilometers. The lagoon has large and flat coral islands in its northern reef half and two motus on both sides of the pass at its southern end. Today’s population is about 1,200 people. In the 80’s of the last century the owner of a large and well known shoe manufacturing company visited Maupiti by boat (of course) and by coincidence. He was immediately overwhelmed by the impressive combination of pure, unspoilt nature, its colors and roughness.
DESIGN
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It inspired him to design a small series of shoes. His ‘own dream’ shoes, hand produced with authentic and only the best materials, for relatives and friends. He did this for some years. This was the birth of the brand Maupiti. Known by a few. After that, it took another 20 years before Maupiti was discovered again. At the start of the 21st century a young designer met with one of the inhabitants of Maupiti wearing the original 80’s Maupiti’s. He was told the story and adapted the concept. He designed ‘new style’ Maupiti footwear with a distinctive flavor of nautical and outdoor footwear and an authentic look and feel. The small collection hit an immediate cult following by the ‘new elite’.
