Our Story, About Us
Where It Began
Our Story :
Ocean Napkins started with a question I asked myself for years before I had the courage to answer it: what would it feel like to actually love what I saw in the mirror, instead of just tolerating it.
I spent a long time being looked at. On stage, on camera, in rooms where how I looked was the whole point. Somewhere in that, I lost the thread between how I looked and how I felt. I knew how to be photographed. I didn’t know how to feel at ease in my own skin, especially not in a swimsuit, especially not in front of anyone.
Painting brought me back. It’s the one thing I’ve done since I was a child, the one place where I make something purely because it moves me, with no audience in mind. So when I started designing swimwear, I didn’t think about trends or what would sell. I thought about what I’d want to wear if I felt completely free — and the answer was something with my own paintings on it. Hand-painted, then carefully translated onto fabric, piece by piece.
That’s still how every print starts: with a canvas, not a mood board.
- Wei Qi
