In September of 1949, Duke Kahanamoku a Hawaiian hero, Olympic swimming champion, and legendary surfer was contracted to endorse a line of Aloha shirts by Cisco Casuals, a manufacturer based in New York and California. This would become a 12-year partnership between Cisco and Duke.
Duke was paid a royalty of 3.5 percent of Cisco's net shipments on men's apparel bearing the Duke Champion Kahanamoku made by Cisco label. An early ad for the shirts read, "designed by THE DUKE a brilliantly new, dramatically different, collection of distinctive Cisco sportswear to be seen shortly at finer stores everywhere."
In a New York Times article they remarked about one of Duke's shirts. "This little Hawaiian hallucination was designed by Duke Kahanamoku who can swim too." The line was produced with a higher quality, drapery Rayon that stood out among other shirt makers on that era.
