John Meigs was born in Chicago, Illinois, in the continental United States. He studied drawing at the Art Institute of Chicago and journalism at the University of Redlands in Southern California and at UCLA. He then worked as a reporter for the Old Los Angeles United Press before moving to Hawaii in 1938, where he began designing textiles around 1940 while working in the art department of the Honolulu Advertiser.
The innovative designs drawn by Meigs soon caught the attention of aloha shirt manufacturers, and he began to receive commissions for his designs.Later, during World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and visited Tahiti, a place associated with the painter Paul Gauguin, where he was drawn to the fascination of Polynesian culture.
In 1947, after being discharged from the military, he returned to Hawaii and began preparing to make a living designing while working in public relations for Trans Pacific Airlines.Word spread quickly, and he began receiving orders not only from Hawaiian manufacturers, but also from major fabric wholesalers on the mainland, including Cohn Hallmark (Kohama) and Tamburo Fabrics.
He set up a studio in his home and produced as many as 400 designs as a textile designer "Keoni Meigs.One of them is "WAIKIKI REEF," which is the first reissue for SUNSURF.
The design was produced on order from Tamburo Fabrics, and Meigs was later appointed to produce Hawaiian prints for the company, which led to the creation of many popular works.These designs eventually led to a boom in aloha shirts throughout the United States. The catalogs of Sears, a department store that operated throughout the U.S., featured Meigs' aloha shirt designs extensively, and he reigned supreme in Hawaiian textile design.
Title: “WAIKIKI REEF”
Author: John Meigs
Material: filament rayon
Print: Discharge print
Design Pattern: Allover Pattern
Button: Coconut button
Size Shoulder Width Body Width Body Length Sleeve Length
S Around 43.5cm Around 54.0cm Around 63.0cm Around 20.0cm
M Around 47.0cm Around 57.5cm Around 66.5cm Around 21.5cm
L Around 50.0cm Around 60.0cm Around 70.5cm Around 22.5cm
XL Around 53.0cm Around 64.0cm Around 71.0cm Around 23.0cm
XXL Around 58.0cm Around 67.0cm Around 74.5cm Around 24.5cm
