item details
Hiko Hanapi; graphic designer; Hawaii
Overview
Nake'u Awai
Nake'u Awai is an indigenous Hawaiian designer. He began his career in fashion in Honolulu in the mid-1970s, following a successful career as a show dancer in Las Vegas and Hollywood. While the aloha wear industry had been flourishing in Hawai'i since the 1930s, Nake'u was one of the first Hawaiian designers to emerge in the field. Today, he is acknowledged as a trailblazer for indigenous fashion in Hawai'i and an elder in the local community.
Nake’u operates a small shop in the heart of Kalihi in Honolulu, which is jam packed with his colourful aloha shirts, mu`u mu`u (dress) and holoku (a formal gown with a train); and adorned with memorabilia from his career as a dancer and designer. His shop is for clients ‘in the know’, and who want to wear a truly 'Hawaiian' garment. Nake’u staffs the shop himself, talking story with customers, most of whom he knows, and offering what one customer has described as ‘brutally honest’ advice on what looks good and what does not.
Especially commissioned fabrics
Frustrated with the limitations of commercially available fabrics early in his career, Nake‘u began commissioning friends, many of whom were local artists, to design prints. Nake‘u releases new prints each year, and continues to rework his historical catalogue.
Hiko‘ula Hanapi
This aloha shirt features artwork by Hiko‘ula Hanapi (1955 - 2010), featuring a series of male dancers performing hula. Hanapi was an active member of the Hawaiian arts community, and was instrumentation in founding the first Native Hawaiian school of fine arts in 2009 – HOEA: Hawaiian ‘Ohana for the Education in the Arts.
A matching mu‘u m‘u
Nake‘u also produced mu‘u mu‘u in this fabric (FE013066/2). Matching aloha shirts and mu‘u mu‘u are popular among older generations of Hawaiians for special occasions.
Co-collecting in Hawai‘i
This shirt was acquired by Te Papa during a co-collecting trip to Hawai‘i in 2017. Te Papa worked with Noelle Kahanu,a cultural specialist from the University of Hawai‘i, to develop collection of aloha shirts that reflects the ways in which Hawaiian culture has been historically represented, and misrepresented, through the aloha shirt, and the ways in which contemporary native Hawaiian designers are utilising the aloha shirt to communicate indigenous cultural values. This shirt was purchased from Nake‘u's shop.
Te Papa’s co-collecting programmes are guided by the principle of mana taonga – the sharing authority with stakeholder communities.