Year: 2016

Style Spotlight: Hilo Shirt

Debuted in 2016 as one of MANAOLA’s signature collared shirt styles, the Hilo design is a modern take on the iconic “aloha shirt.” The Hilo was named for the native technique of fiber twisting of which ‘aho (traditional Hawaiian cordage) was made. These lashings represent strength and were a foundation of Hawaiian structures, used to lash wooden hulls of the wa’a (canoe) as well as housing pillars.

Hilo

As Hilo means “to twist,” MANAOLA honors this technique by twisting the fabric of our slim-fit collared shirt to create an organic texture similar to kapa (native bark cloth). The contemporary cut of this lightweight cotton fabric and Hilo technique accentuate the form of the wearer and create a statuesque silhouette in both short and long sleeve styles.

Fashion Five with Manaola Yap

Get to know more about designer Manaola Yap with our Friday Fashion Five:

When do you feel most creatively productive?
When I am carving (ohe kapala). Although in my process of design its my first step in art preparation, but it is the most calming and exciting part for me because its such a traditional craft that helps me transcend time for a second. 

If you had more hours in the day how would you use them?
I would probably exercise more because health is really important to me. 

What is your favorite thing to eat when you are home in Hawaii?
Canned salmon and poi is what my grandma ate, what my mom ate, its so simple and makes me feel at home. Any kind of fish and poi or dried fish (usually aku) reminds me of home. 

How do you pass the time on long airplane rides?
Watch movies and listen to music. 

What kind of music do you listen to to unwind?
It depends on what I am doing, it changes a lot. I like reggae music, Beyonce, Maisey Rika and classical music, too. 

The MANAOLA Lifestyle: Honoring Your Space

The MANAOLA Lifestyle


What does it mean to live the MANAOLA lifestyle, how can one do so?
To live the MANAOLA lifestyle is to learn to live in gratitude. Meaning to live life from the perspective of being thankful that life is given. Living a purposeful life and setting an intention in everything we do. Whether it is good or bad, making the realization of what is healthy for us and those that surround us and the energies that surround us, and how we can continue to make the intentions that do benefit us and all that surround us. That’s living the MANAOLA lifestyle, celebrating life. 

Honoring your space
I created home decor because I wanted to bring traditional elements into contemporary design through something that is organic. When you’re in your home you want it to look really cool but you want it to be relaxing and to be aesthetically stimulated by something familiar to the spirit, which is nature. Repetitious patterns in nature like ‘ohe kāpala do that for us, whether consciously or not, its happening. Patterns stimulate that kind of energy, so the first piece for me was to create decorative pillows because they are so versatile for any room in the home.

Plants are important because they give us oxygen. The simplicity of putting a live plant in the room changes the air because you’re bringing life into the room, you’re bringing Hāloa (breath) into the room, so its going to change the feeling of the space. I recommend trying to bring native plants into the home space, because they are the living embodiment of akua, they are kinolau or leaf bodies. They are living symbols, like ulu or kukui, for growth and enlightenment. 

Taking the time to know where you live, not just your home but the land that you live in. To do the research to find out the name of that land and to speak it out loud, it honors the place that you call home.

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