Q Lavine: When the Panama Hat Becomes a Canvas

The Panama hat is one of fashion's quiet paradoxes: named after a country that never made it, woven in Ecuador from paja toquilla straw, and so classic that it has become almost invisible. Q Lavine, the Greek house founded by Kalliopi Soulioti, makes it visible again — with a brush.

One gesture, piece by piece

Every hat is painted by hand. A protective eye, a bee, a bird of paradise: the motif arrives on the straw itself rather than through a print run. The same design is offered across several colourways, but the hand ensures that each piece remains singular.

Natural materials only

Q Lavine works with 100% Ecuadorian toquilla straw, Madagascar raffia and paper straw. Hats are finished with a grosgrain ribbon and an inner band; Panama silhouettes come in S to XL, structured hats in 57, 59 and 61. Care is deliberately simple: a fresh cloth.

Slow by design

Because painting cannot be rushed, overproduction is structurally impossible. For boutiques, that means a genuinely limited object — one a client is unlikely to see on someone else on the same beach.

Discover the house on the JAANTE Showroom; wholesale references are listed on the B2B Marketplace.