This stunning aloha shirt, designed by Andrade, features two prominent trees in Hawai‘i.
First, the kukui, or candlenut, tree (Aleurites moluccana) is a large tree in the spurge family originally from the INdo-Malay region. It migrated to Hawai‘i with the first settlers from Polynesia and has proved to be a very useful, valuable resource: its unctuous kernels were used as dim, slow-burning torches when pierced and strung on bamboo sticks, the nuts are still roasted into a relish called ‘inamona, its soft wood was used for canoes, and the gum from the bark aided in painting tapa cloth. The polished nuts have long been polished and strung into lei, as this shirt showcases.
The second tree is the koa (Acacia koa), the largest native tree in Hawai‘i reaching heights of about 115 feet. It’s one of the most expensive woods in the world, used to make furniture, veneer and other crafts. This shirt features the polished seeds of the koa tree.
The reddish-brown nuts and seeds are strewn across this shirt, the fabric design seeming to emulate tree bark, giving this a textured feel.
