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Overview
Kealopiko
Kealopiko is a clothing company based on the island of Moloka'i in Hawai'i. The company was founded by three friends, Ane Bakutis, Jamie Makasobe and Hina Kneubuhl in 2006, with the aim of breaking the 'traditional mold of how Hawai'i has been portrayed for so long'.
'We felt that what is truly and uniquely Hawaiian deserved to be the focus of designs transferred to clothing: our plants and animals, our language and practices, our ali'i (royalty) and kapuna (elders and ancestors), and our mo'olelo (stories and history) as the people of Hawai'i. We also had the audacious assumption that people were hungry for this kind of fashion.'
They develop their designs not according to fashion's seasons, but to those of the gods, Kū and Lono. This shirt, which features pua aloalo flowers, was developed for Kū season in 2017.
A sweet scented flower
The pua aloalo flower, unlike most of the hibiscus flowers traditionally depicted on aloha shirts, is indigenous to Hawai'i. It is one of a few fragment species of its genus in the world, Hibiscus arnottianus. The choice of flower was a deliberate choice by the designers as a 'push back' against the use of non-native plants such as introduced hibiscus and bird-of-paradise, on aloha shirts. The designers note:
'When in full bloom, it is hard not to notice these incredible blossoms as they decorate both the lofty branches of their trees and the forest floor, shamelessly attracting the eye and captivating the thoughts. If that isn't enough, their sweet scent is like that of no other flower - 'a'ohe ona lua.'
A conservation message
The designers, two of whom trained as botanists and are involved in Hawai'i's Plant Extinction Prevention Program, also chose to profile the flower in order to highlight its plight, as its forest habitats are at risk. In keeping with Kealopiko's educational focus, the swing tag for the shirt provides wearers not only with information about the flower but also a call to action.
'Encroached upon by alien plants and animals, these habitats are highly threatened. Supporting conservation efforts in these habitats will help to ensure the survival of this species, one of Hawai'i's precious jewels.'
Kealopiko give a percentage of their profits to environmental or cultural programmes each year.
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.