Aloha kākou!
This Tuesday, we’re bringing back our Hawaiʻi Noir Collection for an encore round, featuring one of our staple cut and sew pieces. First introduced on Black Friday, this collection pulls 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.
BLACK STRIPED AHU LAʻI WINDBREAKER
Our signature windbreaker silhouette makes a triumphant return during the colder months, sporting an assortment of designs from the Hawaiʻi Noir Collection printed in white down the spine of the black windbreaker. It also features a Hawaiian flag on the wearer’s right side and a TropTech label on the back of the neck, denoting the high quality performance tier it belongs to.
ALOHA REPEAT TEE – BLACK
This classic design comes back in a monochrome colorway, with the large repeating Alohas forming a light grey to dark grey gradient. It also features a light grey crown on the upper back.
