Black Friday has always been an important day for us. We strive to create an event that you—our ‘ohana—will enjoy coming to and leaving from. For us itʻs not just a sale, but a great experience.
Last year we embraced the dark with our ‘Ele‘ele Ambush in the Night collection. This year we wanted to explore the dark a little deeper, through the teachings of our Hawaiian ancestors. While cultures around the world have their own beliefs on the creation of life, ancient Hawaiians used the Kumulipo (creation) chant to tell their story. They believed that the creation of life happened in 16 wā, or eras—the first 8 wā in darkness, and the second 8 wā in light.
The belief that essence preceded existence is the basis of our Black Friday collection, aptly titled "Pō Pau‘ole," which roughly translates to "never-ending darkness." It is our respectful nod to the Kumulipo chant and our way of sharing the story of creation with you.
Using five snapbacks as our canvas, we’ve commissioned our good friend Shawn Kaho‘olemanaʻs incredible natural photos to help paint the picture of Pō Pauʻole and creation in an amazing visual narrative.
Shawn is one of our oldest friends here at FITTED. We really respect and love what he is doing now, and to be able to work with him and showcase his amazing work is truly an honor.
We asked him to tell us a little more about himself, and here are his words:
"O aloha mai kakou. O Shawn Kahoʻolemana Naone koʻu inoa a he Hawaiʻi. Noho au i Palehua aka no Aliapaʻakai mai au. My name is Shawn Kahoʻolemana Naone and I am Hawaiian. I live in Makakilo but was raised in Salt Lake. I am a student with two concurrent majors, one in Native Hawaiian Studies and one in Social Work. I went through many years of life with minimal curiosity on what it meant to be kanaka ʻoiwi (Native Hawaiian), in fact I never realized that I had a kuleana (responsibility) to learn and share what my kupuna had practiced and lived so many hundreds of years ago. I lived with this huikau (confusion) for many years until I discovered the value of my culture, the Hawaiian culture. This huikau I feel is one of the main reasons Native Hawaiians are the leaders in the demographic of the incarcerated, the homeless, the substance abusers, and the diasporic.
"I started to document my journey of what I learned in and out of the classroom, and at the same time I got to share my culture to those who were in the same boat as I. My philosophy on photography is a complex one but then again, aren't all Hawaiians living in this ever changing modern day and age. The word for picture is kiʻi, but it also means image, picture, statue, tiki, likeness (as in art imitating life or more importantly vice versa), and also it means to fetch, to acquire, and obtain. So it is my paradox as well my opportunity to be pono in my art by taking a picture without actually talking but observing and giving a response to what I see. I try to makawalu others by showing the multiple angles of a certain object, and how it's juxtaposition affects everything around it and that we are all connected. There are many ways of seeing one thing."
Below are the five pieces of the Pōpauʻole narrative, using descriptions based on Shawnʻs own writings. Each hat will be on sale for $39.99.
"Hōkū-noho-aupuni" Pō Pauʻole Snapback
We begin with the galaxy. The Hōkū-noho-aupuni (Milky Way) is something that one sees away from the hustle and bustle of the city, where there is no light pollution. The ancient Hawaiians were some of the very first and best scientists because they OBSERVED and learned from everything. Without observing the night sky and the stars, they could have never journeyed vast distances across the oceans to settle in this beautiful pae ʻāina (group of islands, archipelago).
"ʻĀ" Hulu Snapback
With such dynamic energy, we present the second stage in our narrative. The molten lava pouring into the crashing waves below, seething into giant plumes of steam—the structure of the entire Hawaiian Archipelago. The Moʻolelo (story) is one that many locals are familiar with. Lava is a kinolau (bodily form) of Pele, while waves and the ocean are kinolau of Nāmaka, her older and jealous sister. The long sibling rivalry can be witnessed still to this day at the Kūpapau lava entry point near Kalapana.
"Pāhoehoe" Aloha Snapback
As the lava flows and hardens, we bear witness to two types of lava formations. In this next stage of our journey, we focus on Pāhoehoe. Relatively smooth, billowy, or ropy in texture, pāhoehoe flows under low pressure and takes its time steadily flowing downhill.
"ʻAʻā" Cheehuu Snapback
The narrative continues with a look at the other type of lava formation: ʻAʻā, a stark contrast to pāhoehoe. The violent spray of the ʻaʻā is a result of higher viscosity and a tremendous amount of gas and pressure, causing it to reveal a rough, jagged, and sharp surface.
"Uluhe" Kamehameha Snapback
We complete our Pō Pauʻole journey as we embrace the beginning of life. A fragile yet determined fern cracks the hardened lava and starts the cycle of life that sustains us all. Native ferns can be fragrant and beautiful, all the while simplistic and tenacious. Among invasive species growing along the mountainside, the Uluhe fern flourishes in abundance, proving the strength and endurance of the native species.
Using the five hats above as the foundation of this collection, we also created two new designs to help carry on the Pō Pauʻole theme.
"Pō Pauʻole" Tee – $25 / Long Sleeve Tee – $28 / Hoodie – $50
On the front of this design we feature the Pō Pauʻole logo with 8 colored shapes directly above. Using the official colors of the islands, these 8 pieces come together to form a solid tri-lock, signifying unity and strength. Below the logo is an 8-pointed star, one point for cardinal direction: North, East, South, West, North East, North West, South East, South West. On the back we see the primary theme of our moʻolelo (story), which is that "Essence Preceded Existence," arching over a list of terms we associate with Pō Pauʻole. On the long sleeve tee and hoodie, we see the 8-pointed star running down both sleeves–8 on the left, 8 on the right. This symbolizes the 16 wā (eras) of the Kumulipo—8 wā in darkness, 8 wā in light.
"Existence" Tee – $25
The Existence tee features the 8-pointed star along the edges of the shirt, symbolizing the 8 cardinal directions. The Pō Pauʻole logo rests on the left chest area. On the back we see the same tri-lock from the Pō Pauʻole tee, this time showing the 8 pieces fragmented by the 8 cardinal directions. Within each section, the word Pō Pauʻole is broken up. Directly beneath is the 8-pointed directional star. While the white tee features a black print, the black shirt features a white and clear gel print.
To round out the collection, we put together a button pack featuring the five steps of our Pō Pauʻole journey, circled by 8 of our 8-pointed stars. We also created a lanyard using Shawn's ʻAʻā photo.
With a collection this robust, it is only fitting that we step up our Black Friday festivities to match. Check out the flyer below for all the things happening that night. We've got good food, great entertainment, games, a photobooth, and a SECRET RAFFLE GIVEAWAY you don't want to miss. A big mahalo goes out to all the vendors and everyone helping out with this momentous occasion! Get ready for our biggest event yet…Mahalo nui loa for the continued support throughout the past 9 years! A L O H A
