In Conversation: Contemporary Designers on Fashioning Aloha

Tory Laitila, curator of textiles and historic arts of Hawai‘i, moderates a talk story session with aloha wear fashion designers Nakeʻu Awai, Roberta Oaks and Kenneth Aloha Victor of Kauluaʻe, whose work is featured in the exhibition. The three textile and clothing designers have diverse backgrounds and experiences, but all look to location and the past for inspiration in their designs. They will talk about their start in fashion, their inspirations and how they infuse aloha into their work.

About the Designers:

Nakeʻu Awai is a Hawaiʻi fashion icon who for 50 years has designed clothes for local people. But his first love is theater. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools and receiving a degree in drama from the University of Washington, Awai worked as a dancer and performer, living and traveling in New York, Europe, and Los Angeles. In the 1960s, a choreographer in Los Angeles encouraged him to try costume design, which led him to the world of fashion. After working with Bob Mackie and other big names, Awai returned to Oʻahu in the early 1970s and established his own fashion line, rooted in his knowledge of Hawaiian culture. He was the first Hawaiian designer to locally create prints using native and indigenous flora (what’s come to be known as “Hawaiian print”) as inspiration. His muʻumuʻu and holokū were the first to be sold commercially at Carol and Mary and Liberty House, making Hawaiian fashion accessible to the masses. Today, he is seen as a mentor whose support and encouragement of other local designers, artists and crafts people reflects his strong sense of Hawaiʻi. Awai has a long history working with Sig Zane, Danene Lunn of Manuhealiʻi and Manaola Yap of Manaola Hawai‘i.

Award-winning Kumu Hula Kenneth “Aloha” Victor was an agriculture student at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo when he took a class on drafting and pattern-making. Then he founded Halau Kala‘akeakauikawekiu in 2006, and found himself sewing a lot of the costuming himself. Unable to keep up with the halau’s demands, he began working with sewing contractors in Honolulu and was eventually inspired to start his own locally made line of island fashion wear. His first textile design featured mastheads from Hawaiian language newspapers dating from 1843 to 1945—it was an instant hit and put Kaulua‘e on the local fashion map. He also uses art depicting things and people that inspire him.

Roberta Oaks’ men’s and women’s brand includes modern aloha shirts made in Hawai‘i with a retro vibe. A Missouri native, Oaks established her company in 2004 and opened her storefront in 2009. With artistic roots in her farmhouse childhood and hippie parents, today she is inspired by mid-century modern design and architecture, and has a deep appreciation for travel and culture. Her modern fit and aesthetic has earned her an international following.