This aloha shirt, made from Japanese kabe crepe for the Cherry Blossom shop in Waikīkī, is incredibly unusual and dynamic in design. At first glance, you’ll likely only see the pattern of brown feathers mixed with the bark of vibrant green Japanese pines. But upon closer look, you’ll see the intense eyes and beak of what could be an ‘io, or Hawaiian hawk, the raptor endemic to Hawai‘i. The textures — the feathers, the pine needles — have so much depth, the images have a modern Japanese woodblock print feel to them.
This fabric came from Japan and was sold to various companies in Hawai‘i. Often the smaller fabric importers shared their fabric and prints with the various manufacturers so they would all have enough of the limited fabric to stay in business.
