The MAUI GIRL Story

Inspired by The Endless Summer surfing documentary & the hippie movement, Debbie Kowalski Wilson arrived on Maui in 1969.

Debbie and her friends taught themselves to sew, and opened The Clothes Addict in 1978. The French style clothing boutique grew quite the following, drawing the loyalty of locals and celebs like Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, and Cindy Lauper. 

As windsurfing took off on Maui, Debbie & her team of bikini-addicts felt called to re-invent the Island uniform. One day in 1985, Debbie was driving her VW beetle along the scenic Northshore and a song came on the radio: “Maui Girl.” 

“I’d heard the song before but on that particular day, a light went on. That’s it! That’s the name of my label: MAUI GIRL!”

40 years & thousands of swimsuits later, loved by SI Swim supermodels & locals alike, we’re constantly re-inventing the bikini, locally for Maui girls and MAUI GIRLS around the world.

E komo mai.