Papaya T-shirt

It came from far away. It stayed for good.

It has no long cultural history on the island, but it represents modern Madeira well: a land that knew how to welcome the new and make it part of its identity.

On this beige organic cotton T-shirt, the papaya is embroidered stitch by stitch by the embroiderer Dorina Pina of Bailha, keeper of a technique passed down through generations.

Bailha is a project by David Oliveira, from Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, in Madeira, who grew up among his mother’s and grandmother’s embroidery. He trained as an architect in Oslo but never forgot the embroidery of his island, and came back. Today he draws the designs that take shape in the hands of the embroiderers, the keepers of rare techniques learned at home and perfected over the years.

Always choosing natural fabrics, Bailha brings Madeira Embroidery back to life. With the same delicacy, the same time and the hands of the embroiderers. To be worn and lived in.