FEBURARY 1, 2026

“E lele le toloa ae ma‘au i le vai.”
The toloa may fly, but it always returns to the water.

This proverb speaks to grounding. No matter how far one travels, no matter how high one rises, there is always a place and a people that one belongs to. In faʻa Samoa, movement is not separation. It is extension. You may leave, but you do not leave behind.

We chose this proverb as the foundation of our first drop because it reflects the heart of Koko Kollective. Koko means blood. Not just life, but lineage. Blood remembers. Blood returns. Identity is not erased by distance, success, or change. Like the toloa, you carry your origin within you, even when you move through new waters.

Each of the three designs in this drop explores that idea in a different way: movement and stillness, departure and return, individuality and collective strength. Together, they speak to a truth our kūpuna have always known: who you are is shaped by where you come from, and where you come from is always with you.

Koko is for those who move through the world but remain rooted.
For those who fly, but return to the water.

E lele le toloa ae ma‘au i le vai.