Tropical Sunshine, Chapter 5: A Sustainable, Summer Story

"She wove golden rays of sunshine

Into a long and flowy dress,

That left the scent on everything she touched

Of nature's sweet caress.

Everywhere the girl did go,

The flowers would all bloom..."

 

In our conscious journey, we took you along on the many adventures that inspired our collections. Throughout the journey, our goal was to enhance travel experiences for all those in love with what we do for the planet. Travel is so much more than the extravagant constructed dwellings and architecture different places are famous for. It's about the colours and smells that stay with you forever that keep crawling into your imagination and embolden you to create things that matter.

'Tropical Sunshine', chapter 5 of our journey, is our ode to places where experiences move you, free you and fill you with power to create a positive impact in this world.

(Seen here: The Tropical handwoven organic cotton jumpsuit)

Inspired by Singapore and it’s botanical gardens, this summer we invite you to embrace the sunshine and blue skies with a green heart.

We often think about Singapore as skyscrapers and a haven of touristic places, but it is also home to beautiful green spaces and sustainability initiatives. It breathes summer like never before. The colours, the spaces and the little spots which shine in tropical glory have become a treat to the eyes as we pass them by day after day. They’ve helped us grow and were also one of the pillars as a place, in the start of our conscious journey. Hence this summer season – we take inspiration from the colour, the vibe, the energy and constant summer shine.

Situated at the heart of the city, Singapore’s oldest garden is a treasure trove for nature lovers. It is a testament to the island’s beauty, and also the first and only tropical botanical garden on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. We’ve spent some beautiful moments exploring this haven, from the national orchid garden to the rainforest to the tall palms at the palm valley. Each visit to the gardens is serene, the sounds of nature and the peace it brings grounds us in our surroundings, to fully live and enjoy the moment of tranquil meditation. It reminds us of the connection we have with our world we depend on so much and so deeply admire.

Find me under the palms

Summertime essentials: we bring to you silhouettes that are easy breezy, relaxed while balancing style & fit. As always each piece is crafted slow with sustainable fabrics. Some new ones, such as tencel & linen, and some staples such hemp organic cotton and handmade organic cotton keeping the summer warmth in mind. You’ll find all your summer fashion needs covered with an array of outfits that are suited for any occasion, from casual wear, to work wear and resort-ready pieces.

(Seen here: Knot It Up top; Riverside Easy trousers; Sundown dress (orchid edition))

Our colours are inspired from the moments that make this place so special in our travel journals. Gorgeous shades of green matched with sunshine yellow and accompanied by the hues of flowers - the colours of the tropics. Consciously herbal-dyed solid colours while azo-free colours have been used for our block prints. Herbal dyes are all natural and plant based using herbs such as turmeric, indigo to bring forward the yellows and greens.

The embroideries this season are stirred from the moments we have spent in the gardens and in Singapore. You will find beautiful and intricate motifs of hibiscus, palm leaves, monstera and more. The motifs are hand and machine embroidered by our threadspellers Nawab and Amzed, and to further express our love for these motifs, we have also translated some of our favourites into prints this season, designed in-house and printed in collaboration with our new artisan partner, Bagru Textiles. Every outfit aims to carry a green heart, which embodies a bit of nature and heritage, and also the soul of the Sui woman.

Make your own sunshine

Collaboration is key for our craft. Each day we reflect and go deeper into understanding what it means to be a conscious brand today. Before we begin we always ask this one particular question: how can we create a positive impact with the clothes that we make?

Our answer is to always connect with other green minds and communities who keep handicraft traditions alive while benefiting those who often live in rural areas and are underprivileged. By making sure to do this, we hope to continue to support our artisan partners and help our community flourish while creating maximum positive impact. This season, with that same mindset, we have introduced new green fabrics, timeless designs and a stronger artisan focus.

(Seen here: Sunshine v-neck dress)

We have collaborated once again with our artisan partner WomenWeave and are also excited to introduce a new one, Bagru Textiles. WomenWeave is a community of weavers based in Maheshwar supporting slow and sustainable growth in the handloom industry. They particularly champion women who have been historically underpaid and under-appreciated in this field and make sure they can work in safe, beneficial environments. Bagru Textiles is a community located in Jaipur that has been block printing for 5 generations. We have been lucky to witness exceptional craftsmanship from them in their process, seeing how the hand-done, manual process starts from beginning to end, from carving their design blocks to applying them onto fabric with toxic free and herbal dyes.

(Seen here: The Orchid wrap dress)

Our ‘Tropical Sunshine’ chapter brings you stories composed together from a locality in Bagru to a weavers community in Maheshwar and our threadspellers family from our workshop in Delhi. Singapore has been the origin of our journey and the inspiration which is making us look forward and think of more sustainable initiatives which we want to perform as a green heart-er community. Come and embrace sunshine this summer with us, relax under palm trees and soak in the beauty of nature. Let’s breathe the tropical state of mind…

 

A note from the SUI team to our green heart-ers:

These are trying times that give us an opportunity to reflect on the impact of our choices and to appreciate all we have. It’s important to take any precautions and procedures to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Keep positive and use this time to spend some quality time with yourself. Should you have access to your own corner of nature, you can even take a moment outdoors. We’re available in the digital world, whenever you need us!