List: Early Islanders
Status: Origin File
Origin: London / Hawaii
FILE: NAME-STUDIES-001.JPG
SOURCE: PERSONAL ARCHIVE
The Piece I Couldn't Find
TO: EARLY ISLANDERS
FROM: THE ARCHIVE
DATE: July 2026
Dear Islander,
I wasn’t planning on telling my whole story yet.
There’ll be time for that.
But there’s one part that explains why Isla Noir exists.
DATE: UNKNOWN
FILE: THE-PIECE-I-COULDNT-FIND.TXT
SOURCE: MEMORY
I started surfing when I was sixteen.
On and off over the years, but enough to become completely obsessed. Especially with spring suits. From very early on I began collecting wetsuits.
About ten years later I moved to New Zealand for a year and found my way back into surfing properly.
Around the same time, matching activewear sets were everywhere.
SKIMS tops.
Cycle shorts.
Beautiful pieces I’d happily wear all day.
I remember feeling chic. Cute. Confident.
Then, before every surf session, I’d find myself wishing I could keep my favourite little workout sets on.
Instead, I’d pull on a wetsuit or rash vest and feel like my personal style had been left on the beach.
I even remember seeing Victoria McGrath in a vlog, wearing a SKIMS top while snorkelling on holiday and thinking...
I’m obviously not the only fashion girl wishing there was something better.
But I thought that feeling was just part of surfing or sports in general.
ATTACHMENT: 003
FILE: ACTIVEWEAR-UNIFORM.JPG
SOURCE: PERSONAL ARCHIVE
The uniform before Isla Noir.
Fast forward to Hawaii.
More surfing.
Less wetsuits.
I practically lived in this one Billabong rash vest.
ATTACHMENT: 004
FILE: BILLABONG-RASHIE.JPG
SOURCE: PERSONAL ARCHIVE
Worn almost every session.
On the journey home, I met up with some friends in Florida who run their own business.
Somewhere between pool hangs and conversations about the future, they convinced me to go for that idea I’d been carrying around for years.
And suddenly the idea had a shape: an IT Girl rash vest.
ATTACHMENT: 005
FILE: VOLCAN-LONG-SLEEVE-002.JPG
SOURCE: ISLA NOIR ARCHIVE
The piece I kept looking for.
Back in London, I realised there wasn’t going to be another chance this good.
I had the time.
I had the degree.
I had years of ideas.
And suddenly I had permission.
That decision became Isla Noir.
The samples, manufacturers, field tests and production notes you’ve been reading all came afterwards.
Because before there was a product...
There was simply a piece I couldn’t find.
From the archive,
Alexandra
PLAYLIST: Vol. 001
SOURCE: FROM THE FIELD
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