In-store release will begin at midnight HST.
Online release will begin at 1am HST.
Video: @jasonjko
Model: @chrisrockemwell
Aloha kākou!
This Black Friday, we’re setting the stage for something special. We pulled inspiration from the classic Film Noir genre (a trend of darker and cynical films in the early to mid-1900’s), matched it up with a similar era in Hawaiʻi’s past, then laced it with a bit of irony and humor to stir up a new concoction: the Hawaiʻi Noir Collection.
Let’s set it up for you. It’s 1930’s Chinatown, a time where people still came over from the states by boat—a bunch of affluent out-of-towners looking to escape their mundane lives and encase themselves in paradise. To most, paradise was the allure of bright sun, warm waters, and sandy beaches, but of course there were some that thought of paradise a little differently.
For those people, there was Hell’s Half Acre.
This little parcel of land in Chinatown became notorious for being an adult playground, filled with crime, hookers, drugs, scandal, and downright debauchery—and many wouldn’t have it any other way. It was almost its own self-governed society, with all the different businesses knowing their roles and playing their part. Ordered chaos, if you will.
This unique irony of paradise masking the grimy adult paradise in Chinatown inspired us to create this collection, resulting in a carefully curated assortment of items centered around Hell’s Half Acre, and focuses on tongue-in-cheek designs based on fictional businesses within the area.
We’ve also created a new pattern specifically for this collection called Nectar, which encapsulates the facade of a Hawaiʻi paradise (la ulu palm, monstera, Diamond Head) combined with the gritty underbelly (scantily clad women) to create the perfect depiction of Hell’s Half Acre.
Because the ideas and execution became so robust, it was hard to limit ourselves to just one release day. So we expanded the collection to span across the next several weeks—the only way to do this collection justice. Keep checking back as the weeks progress, all the while thinking about which of these places you’d like to check out. Because we know you would.
Indulge in the debauchery. Immerse yourself in the toughest spot in the Pacific. Welcome to Hell’s Half Acre.
D.P.C.S 9FIFTY SNAPBACK
This brand new design features FITTED stitched on the front in a Chinese character-inspired typeface to tie back to the story’s Chinatown roots. The crown is built from 100% cotton ripstop in black, while the visor is a 100% polyester twill, sublimated with this collection’s Nectar print. The tonal black front logo is contrasted by light blue side logos and a red “Hell’s Half Acre” embroidery on the back above the white snap enclosure. Printed under the side crown embroidery is “Dirty Past Cleaning Service,” which is our first look at a fictional Chinatown cleaning service, and a printing technique we’ve never done before now. The inner satin lining features a black tonal print of Hell’s Half Acre street layout.
CIVIL SERVICE HIGH POINT LONG-SLEEVE BUTTON SHIRT
Our newest High Point Long-sleeve Button Shirt arrives in a crazy way. Dubbed Civil Service because its inspiration draws heavily from Vietnam war tourist shirts, this button-down shirt features the same technical build that we used on our previous High Point shirts, but this time around it features unique gabardine fabric with stretch technology for movability, printed side logos, tonal printed name signifier above the pocket, and insanely detailed back embroidery which proudly displays Hell’s Half Acre and labels it as the “Toughest Spot in the Pacific.”
TOUGHEST TEE – WHITE
The Toughest tee is like the commemorative item you bring home from any visit to a new place. You went to Hell’s Half Acre and came back with this awesome tee. It features the Chinese character-inspired logo for the collection on the front, and showcases the street layout of Hell’s Half acre on the back with full branding and mottos.
DELICIOUS, PLEASE SEND MORE TEE – ORANGE
This design promotes the fictional neighborhood butcher and chop suey house down in Hell’s Half Acre. Anything you need chopped up, they’ll be happy to accommodate. And they mean anything.
BOOGIE HOUSE TEE – BLACK
Inspired by the entrepreneurship of a real gangster and the original Honolulu Harlot, Jean O’Hara (do a quick Google search), this tee represents the place in Hell’s Half Acre that men would seek out, looking for a good time and a beautiful “lei.”
WTCF TEE – CELADON
Our standard logo tee was customized for this collection by filling it with our new Nectar pattern.
Along with the Hawaiʻi Noir Collection, we’re also releasing an unprecedented 28 FITSTRIKE hats, as seen above. Because of the wide range of colors and styles, they’ve all been produced in extremely limited quantities. Please note that all FITSTRIKES are in-store exclusives.
Last year’s Annex was a huge success, so we’re bringing it back for another round. The Annex is located in the vacant shop directly across our shop, and will feature more of the same insanely great deals we brought to you last year. Hours for the Annex are 12am–3pm HST.