But by a cruel irony, in Tahiti itself, biggest of the French Society Islands Tahitian women were forbidden to wear indecent pareus. Instead they were supposed to wear imported French cotton dresses.

Hailing from Mahina on Tahiti’s north coast, Vai started shortboarding when she was 16. By 18, she had discovered longboarding after a French brand came to the island for a photoshoot and left ...