Keiki kapa aloha shirt

Sig Zane

This aloha shirt is by Sig Zane Design, a company founded by Sig Zane and wife Nalani Kanaka'ole, in 1985 in Hilo on Hawai'i Island. The company seeks to share "the values of the Hawaiian people through art, by honoring the plants of the the islands, and providing a unique experience that is enhanced by teaching the symbolism of the Hawaiian name of the plant, and giving insight to other aspects of our lifestyle that will build upon the experience: all to express gratitude, appreciation, and compassion for allowing a life in this island environment along with the hosts of this culture."

This keiki (child) sized shirt, features a kapa (bark cloth) inspired pattern.

Aloha Shirt as Superhero shirt

This shirt was worn by Graham, a young Hawaiian boy growing up in Honolulu, who likes to emulate his grandfather - a musician, artist and geneologist who owns a substantial collection of aloha shirts. As well as idolising his grandfather, Graham, like many young children, also likes to dress as a superhero. In order to get him dressed each day, his parents took to describing his clothes in superhero terms. This shirt was one of his 'Aquaman' shirts. He also has 'Hulk' and 'Clark Kent' aloha shirts.

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 acquired from Graham's family, whom are avid aloha shirt wearers.

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