Words by: Tanya Singh and Adam Raby
Photo credit: Māzú Resortwear

Paying homage to our shared maritime history, Māzú Resortwear creates inspired men's swimwear and more using recycled plastic.

 

A true blend of tradition and modernity, Māzú Resortwear pays homage to the city's rich maritime history, incorporating traditional colors, local motifs like junk boats, and upcycled ocean plastic fabric to create Asia-inspired resort wear. The brand is focused on producing quality products with an emphasis on exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail. Māzú Resortwear's luxury hotel and resort collaborations include Aman, COMO, Potato Head, Shangri La, St Regis, the Surin, Alila, Wynn, the Datai, the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and MGM Grand.

We spoke with Adam Raby, the Founder of Māzú Resortwear to talk about the inspiration behind the brand and upcoming projects. 

Left to right: Māzú Resortwear's Ocean Recycled Plastic Swimming Shorts and Atlas Linen Shirt.

How did it all start? Tell us the Māzú Resortwear story?

I started Māzú Resortwear in 2013 driven by my personal experience in shopping for men's wear. Until then, I had always been looking to brands overseas for men's resortwear. There were none to be found in Asia. It was quite a surprise to me that nothing inspired by this beautiful region was available in the market.

The inspiration for the brand name and direction came from a book that my father wrote about temples in the region. There was a particular goddess featured in the book – Māzú, the goddess of the seas, who sailors and fishermen would often pray to for a successful journey over the waters – that caught my eye and gave wings to my ideas. Māzú was the catalyst that led me to learn more about Hong Kong and the rest of the region's rich maritime history. Asia has always had an intimate relationship with the ocean. We've always dominated the waters around us, and coastal life is a norm for most. All of these ideas and elements from our culture put together led to the conceptualization of Māzú Resortwear. In fact, from the designs to the details, everything that we create is a nod to our shared culture and heritage. The drawstrings for our shorts, for example, are red – an auspicious hue in the Chinese culture and Māzú, the goddess' favorite color. 

Detail of the red drawstrings in Māzú Resortwear's swim shorts.

Could you talk a little bit about your own background and relationship to the sea?

I was a professional rugby player for several years followed by a career in advertising, until I eventually decided to take the leap and start something of my own.

I was born and raised in Hong Kong and have lived here for most of my life. My grandfather was in the British Navy and my father is an avid sailor. I would often accompany my father on sailing trips and naturally developed a close relationship with water. I guess the nautical affinities were always in my blood. Ironically, I'm actually quite a bad swimmer but that has never deterred me from always wanting to be on a beach!

I think my relationship with the ocean was what encouraged me to also experiment with using recycled plastic as a material for our products. It is a way for me to give back to my constant source of memories and inspiration.

What can you tell us about the design and production process?

Usually, I come up with the core concept and design brief, and then my team of very talented designers and illustrators help to bring the vision to life. The Hong Kong Maritime Museum is often a place of inspiration for me. I feel very fortunate that we built the brand on a concept that constantly offers endless possibilities. There are so many elements that we have adopted from our maritime heritage, and yet so many more that are still waiting to be explored. We are 9 years in, and not even close to exhausting all the creative directions we could take.

I always wanted everything to be manufactured in China because of prior experience in sourcing and working with factories. Being an Asian brand, it was very important for me to be able to leverage the resources we have in the region. We spent quite a lot of time on finding the right factory that could deliver a high-quality product.

 

Collection developed by Māzú Resortwear for W Maldives.

What is the DYO Collection?

The Design Your Own Collection is an opportunity for us as creators and our customers (mainly hotels and resorts) to work together to create something unique. We can produce swimwear for men, women, and kids, as part of an exclusive collection produced for a particular client using elements that inspire their brand.

Most recently, we worked with the Four Seasons in Maldives to create a collection of swimwear made from recycled plastic that used elements unique to their resort. The venture has been quite successful in the last few years and has helped us branch out into bigger markets.

Could you speak to the focus on exquisite craftmanship in your products?

When we first started Māzú Resortwear, my main priority was to develop a fabric that was great quality but could also perform well in water. I wanted to find something that would hold its structure in water, dry quickly, but was also comfortable and stylish. After a lot of research and experimentation, we arrived at a fabric that checked all the boxes and was used for our first few collections.

While being able to contribute to saving our oceans was always a goal, it was not feasible for us at the beginning to use recycled plastic material. It's only recently after years of research that we have managed to find a recycled plastic material that fits well with our products without compromising on the quality. Today, I am very proud to say that most of our products are created using recycled plastic material. 

From left to right: Māzú Resortwear's Tides Recycled Plastic Swimming Shorts and Screen Recycled Plastic Swimming Shorts.

What's next for Māzú Resortwear?

We are constantly working towards building our collection. We have rash guards and Hawaiian shirts made from recycled plastic fabric coming out this year. We are also working on a collection of women's swim shorts, which is something quite new and exciting for us.

There are also a lot of other products we have in the pipeline where we are exploring the use of additional sustainable materials.