Keren Encarnación Rodríguez, a 26-year-old Puerto Rican textile designer, has launched Khenalu, a Puerto Rican swimwear brand created so that her mother, who could never find a well-fitting, attractive plus-size swimsuit, could finally wear one. The idea took shape after she graduated in 2022 from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia; 365 days later she shut herself in her room and built the entire project alone, from research and business planning to print designs, suppliers and fabrics.
Khenalu reached the public in 2025. Its first collection, Tropicana Criolla, is inspired by the colorful handcrafted concrete floor tiles of her grandmother’s house, which as the smallest of the cousins she used as a playground, and which she later learned were made to order in Ponce. She turned that 20th-century architecture into contemporary textiles on swimsuits sized XS to 3XL, plus one- and two-piece suits, long-sleeve shirts and shorts for the beach, rivers, road trips and everyday wear.
Encarnación Rodríguez says producing fashion from the archipelago means fighting freight costs, permits and government requirements, while her biggest challenge has been psychological perseverance. She decided to "bet on the country" and build the business from home, encouraged by customers who thank her for making pieces that fit them.