Mu`u mu`u

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.

A collaboration

This mu'u mu'u represents a collaboration between Nake‘u Awai, respected native Hawaiian print-maker Hiko`ula Hanapi (1955-2010), who created the hula dancer pattern, and Nola and Linda Nahulu of Bete Mu‘u who created the dress. The label Bete Mu‘u, which was founded by Betty Manchester in 1959, is synonymous in Hawai‘i with traditionally styledmu‘u mu‘us. Bete Mu‘u dresses are worn by many Hawaiian civic and choral groups.

The mu‘u mu‘u features the labels of both Bete Mu‘u and Nake‘u Awai.

A matching shirt

Nake‘u also produced mu‘u mu‘u in this fabric (FE013066/1). 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.

Te Papa’s co-collecting programmes are guided by the principle of mana taonga – the sharing authority with stakeholder communities.