Our story began with three women, three mythical beings: Maat and her handmaidens, Beauty and Truth. In mythology and Egyptian heiroglyphics, Maat was represented by an ostrich feather. The equal-sidedness of the feather, with its division into halves, rendered it a fitting symbol of balance.
Feathers recur as a sacred talisman in many cultures, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, by Mexicans and by Native Americans, who used them in headdresses and in dreamcatchers. Just as Maat was trusted to control the daily path of the sun, so the moon controls the tides ~ and so people have believed for centuries that we can control our dreams.
Dreamcatchers originated with the Ojibwe nation, who believed that, when hung above the bed, only good dreams would be allowed to filter through their sinewy webs; they would pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper, while bad dreams would be caught and trapped in the net. The tides of today bring both nightmares and dreams, for along the shore we find countless cigarette butts and plastic bottles mixed in with natural treasures like seashells and driftwood.
Maiyet’s ribbon dress, hand knit in Bolivia, recalls the spidery lines of traditional dreamcatchers ~ which today are being reinterpreted and made with ephemera collected off the shoreline by Sian Gordon, the birdlike beauty caught in these haunting images.
Born in New York City to a family of yogis and Buddhists, Sian was taught early on the power of meditation and manifestation. Like Kumi and Heather, Sian grew up to become a yoga instructor herself, and is one of the founders of Love Yoga Studio in Montauk. Love is a special seaside yoga space, and Sian’s classes are playful, challenging, and invite you to explore the deeper aspects of yoga.
Each person’s meditation or yoga practice is their own, a tenet that teachers remind you in every class. It’s about settling existentially into the solitude of the experience and finding a personal connection to the energies of the universe ~ in much the same way that maat as a concept is about working toward cosmic harmony, and Maiyet as a brand is about celebrating the deeper societal opportunities in fashion. Similarly, I hope that this site is and will continue to become an ever richer space that proffers playful inspiration, while simultaneously offering avenues to explore the more meaningful aspects of aesthetic experience and creative collaboration. In all the beauty and frivolity, there must always be an underlying truth.
Truth + Beauty starring KumiSawyers, Sian Gordon and Heather Lilleston / Photography by Jamie Beck for Ann Street Studio / Written and styled by Kelly Framel / Hair and makeup by Ana Sicat / All clothes and accessories by Maiyet