January 07 2022
January marks the 8th year of Muʻumuʻu Month in Hawaiʻi and to celebrate, we've created a brand new collection inspired by the art and heritage of the Hawaiian muʻumuʻu. Follow us as we share with you how Muʻumuʻu Month originated, and where our design inspiration came from, and introduce you to our very first Muʻumuʻu Month Collection!
How #MuumuuMonth Became A Thing
Mu‘umu‘u Month was started by Kauaʻi local, Shannon Hiramoto, after she received a couple of boxes filled with vintage muʻumuʻu from a friend's mother. After sharing the box of fabrics with her sister and brother-in-law they challenged her to wear them out and about. Challenge accepted as Shannon began to wear a different muʻumuʻu each day in January 2015 while posting on social media with the hashtag #muumuumonth. Soon, women all across Hawaiʻi started showing their support and joining in on the new resurgence of these vintage dresses!
Now, Muʻumuʻu Month is recognized across Hawaiʻi as a tribute to the unique fashion history of Polynesia and to pay homage to all of our tūtū and aunties that have worn these dresses for decades.
Creating the Collection with ALOHA’s Art Director, Rachel Oro
When ideating on concepts for a new 2022 collection, Art Director, Rachel Oro (“Ro”), started to draw inspiration from the dresses she remembers her mom and aunties wearing growing up. An Oʻahu local, Ro shares with us how ALOHA’s first-ever Muʻumuʻu Collection came to life, as well as her inspiration for the vivid colors and florals captured in these designs.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for a muʻumuʻu month collection?
A: Over the past few years the muʻumuʻu has seen a resurgence cross-generationally. All of the sudden "muʻumuʻu month" became a thing and you could see it in fashion and on social media. It was so exciting to see because the muʻumuʻu holds so much nostalgia for me. It quickly inspired me to create a collection based off of these classic designs.
Q: How did growing up in Hawaiʻi influence these designs?
A: Growing up in Hawaiʻi muʻumuʻu were everywhere! At every backyard party all my aunties were wearing these beautiful, bright patterned dresses that showcased the plants and flowers of the islands. I remember my great auntie wore this beautiful blue and white one with hau flowers and lei on it almost every time I saw her, even if she was just working in the yard.
Q: What was your process for creating this collection?
A: The first thing I did was gather all my inspiration, images of old muʻumuʻu, and my favorite Hawaiian plants and lei. Then I sketch a bunch of different patterns. Once I created a layout that worked for our travel bags I used the bright, bold colors that reminded me of muʻumuʻu and Hawaiʻi!
Q: What was your favorite part about this collection?
A: I love this collection for so many reasons. The main one for me is nostalgia. It reminds me of sitting out on the back porch listening to my aunties talk story all day while we played in the yard. I also really like the bright colors and use of Hawaiian flora, so very ALOHA.
Muʻumuʻu Month x ALOHA
Our Muʻumuʻu Collection represents an opportunity to not only honor Muʻumuʻu Month but to establish a new tradition of honoring the Hawaiian roots of ALOHA Collection. Through these designs, we hope to be part of the resurgence of the Muʻumuʻu and would love to invite YOU to help us Share the ALOHA!
Join us on social during the month of January by sharing the hashtag #ALOHAMuumuu to show us how you celebrate #MuumuuMonth for a chance to be featured on our social pages! These new prints can be styled with your favorite Muʻumuʻu or worn out and about for a fun, Splash-Proof look. Can’t wait to see how you make Muʻumuʻu Month your own!
3 comments
I remember giving Shannon a whole bunch of my mom Lydia’s muumuu when I learned she wanted to promote the idea of honoring the old styles. Within the collection there were old Bete Mu’us as well as some newer mu’u designers like Sig Zane and Nake’u. I was so glad that Shannon was able to make use out of these garments that otherwise would still be collecting dust in my (almost 92 year old) mom’s closet. Wonderful to see how much this month long “event” has grown.
Thank you for sharing the story behind your newest collection.
I appreciate the info provided about mu’umu’u month, as I was not aware of it.Your designs for this collection are beautiful and brought back memories of various ones I had when I was younger.
The last design – Eimeo? Is it also available for purchase?
Enjoyed reading the muʻumuʻu blog especially how Mu‘umu‘u Month was started Shannon Hiramoto. Mahalo.