Aloha kākou!
As the Umi A Ola collection draws to a close tomorrow, we’d like to once again sincerely mahalo everyone from the bottom of our hearts for all the support over these last 10 years. We mean it with the utmost honesty and gratitude when we say that we would not be here if it weren’t for the support of our customers, families, and friends. We’d also like to thank all the staff and friends that have entered our doors at any point along our journey and helped carry our brand to heights we’ve only dreamed of. Although we’re just a small retailer that sells tangible goods, our pride comes from the stories told, shared, and discussed afterward. Knowing that our products spark a cultural awareness and forge interaction and friendship is the best feeling in the world to us. It is the main reason we keep doing what we do, and we couldn’t be more proud of that. Now with this final release of our Umi A Ola collection, we bid a fond ALOHA to our first ten years and we E KOMO MAI the next ten and beyond.
NEW LOGO
With our 10 year anniversary upon us, we not only graduated to a new representative color, we also took this opportunity to refresh our crest logo and FITTED logotype as well. Like the Woven X pattern that we used throughout the collection, we felt a strong connection to the masterful art of weaving and wanted to incorporate that into our next evolution, through inspiration from makaloa and lauhala weaving. The central concept behind the woven inspiration is the sense of togetherness, ʻohana, and community—strong bonds woven together over time and almost impossible to break. The new crest and logotype feature double lines, which act as an abstract reference to strands and weaving, with the crest lines overlapping and intersecting at various points. We also modified the typeface from sans serif to serif for an established and regal look, attributed to our long-standing reputation and brand history.
Makini ʻEle 59FIFTY
What better way to round out the Umi A Ola collection than with one of our most popular releases (and arguably our most complex), dipped in all black and releasing on All Hallow’s Eve? In modern Hawaiʻi, the familiarity of the makini helmet is undeniable—it’s seen on shirts, necklaces, and even hanging on rearview mirrors. Through popular culture and the aforementioned items, the common theory is that makini helmets were worn by a secret group of warriors that protected the highest aliʻi. The lesser known yet logically sound theory involves the makini helmets being worn by moʻo Lono (Lono priests) to represent a time of peace or coming in contact with someone peacefully, and also worn during Lonoikamakahiki ceremonies. Flashback to 2008 when we released our original Makini 59FIFTY, which broke the mold of run-of-the-mill baseball caps and ignored the traditional embroidery placements and printing styles that came before it. It was our most technically intricate piece to date, focusing many hours of design and development to get the details just right. We’ve brought back all the same intricacies from the original: the detailed feather embroidery running from the front of the hat all the way to the back, gourd cut-out embroidery on the front, kapa embroidery on the visor, screen printed strength kāpala (print) around the entire crown, and the screen printed quote on the undervisor, which translates to “Unite to Move Forward.” Other details include our traditional crown, New Era, and crest embroideries around the hat, along with a black satin sweatband and new Hulu pattern on the inner satin liner, grayscaled to match the outside.
Mahalo Hooded Long Sleeve Tee – Black
A new lightweight build featuring 65% cotton and 35% polyester, this long sleeve tee also contains a hood to keep your head warm in the cooler months ahead. Our Mahalo logo is seen in yellow on the upper right chest, along with our new Hulu pattern flooding the outer sleeves. The woven X logo is printed in yellow on the upper back.
