item details
Overview
This aloha shirt is by the Hawaiian company Rai Nani, has been given a safari suit style twist by the designer with the addition of epilettes, a belt and two pockets towards the hem. The print is reminiscent of masi, that is Fijian tapa print.
The safari look, which was a restylising of the African bush jacket, was popularised by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior in 1967.
It has been suggested that this shirt may have been part of a service uniform.
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 Barrio Vintage Honolulu. The store specialises in vintage Hawaiian clothing from the 1950s to 1970s, and caters to customers in search of unique garments.
Te Papa’s co-collecting programmes are guided by the principle of mana taonga – the sharing authority with stakeholder communities.