When I moved to Hawaii, one thing I was bummed about was the lack of a fashion scene. I always dreamed of living in New York or Paris and being surrounded by couture houses as well as vibrant street fashion. Living on an island, the closest many people come to getting dressed up is putting on jeans instead of bikini bottoms. (Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I also love a good catwalk show.) It turns out though that I was wrong about the fashion scene. Yes, it’s small, but it’s here and it’s composed of super talented and driven people with a unique take on fashion.
That said, November is Hawaii Fashion Month and I am so excited for all of the upcoming festivities. I have been working with one organization in particular to prepare for fashion month, and specifically for an exciting event coming up this Friday. HIFI (aka the Hawaii Fashion Incubator) is an organization that provides resources to Hawaii’s fashion industry, as well as organizes events and forges partnerships in the local fashion community. Over the last several years, HIFI has really helped to shape the growing fashion industry in Hawaii. This Friday’s event, HIFI Connects, will be a panel of assorted esteemed mentors who will speak about their work, their roles in the industry, and their visions for the future. I had the wonderful opportunity to pre-interview two of the three panelists and write up short pieces on their past and current work, backgrounds, and relation to Hawaii fashion.
You can read my full story on Bobby Ikeda here and on Kay Sides here and purchase tickets for the panel here. Also, don’t forget to check the calendar for the rest of this month’s events!
*All images courtesy of the HIFI website.
