‘Art of the Aloha Shirt’ unbuttons at the MACC’s Schaefer International Gallery, Aug. 11-Oct. 3

Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Schaefer International Gallery will open “Keoni of Hawaiʻi: Art of the Aloha Shirt” on Tuesday, an exhibition tracing the early history of the aloha shirt through the work of designer John “Keoni” Meigs.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 3 and is free to the public. Schaefer International Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and before select Castle Theater shows.

The show features original textile artworks, draft sketches and swatches, advertisements and vintage shirts documenting Meigs’ design career. Meigs, born in Chicago in 1916, moved to Honolulu in 1937 and worked as a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and later the Honolulu Advertiser. A self-taught painter, he began designing textiles in 1938 under the name “Keoni of Hawai’i,” drawing on kapa patterns he studied at the Bishop Museum. Over his 13 years in the islands, from 1938 to 1951, Meigs produced roughly 300 aloha print designs, some of which remain in circulation today. He died in 2003.

The aloha shirt itself emerged nearly a century ago as a collective creation of local designers and shirtmakers who blended influences from Polynesian tapa, Tahitian pāreu and Japanese kimono and yukata. Its rise paralleled Hawai’i’s economic shift in the late 1920s and early 1930s from agriculture toward hospitality and tourism, as the island clothing industry moved from work wear to sports and casual clothing.

“Through countless styles and designs over the decades, the aloha shirt has become an integral part of local lifestyle throughout the islands and an expression of Hawai’i’s identity across the ocean,” said Schaefer International Gallery Director Jonathan Yukio Clark. “This exhibition touches on the early years of the aloha shirt by exploring Keoni of Hawai’i’s design process, which involved drawing and painting patterns by hand before they were translated into sewn shirts. While this exhibition previously toured throughout the continental US, this marks a rare chance to bring these designs home.”

The exhibition is curated by Dale Hope, a second-generation contributor to Hawaiʻi’s garment industry, drawing from the collection of Dan Eskenazi and additional private collections. It is presented by Maui Arts & Cultural Center and supported in part by the Maui County Office of Economic Development.

Three free public events accompany the exhibition:

• Activations: After Hours at the Gallery — Sept. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the gallery and Yokouchi Pavilion & Courtyard. The event includes a runway fashion show of vintage aloha wear and a DJ, with food and beverages available for purchase. Ticketed reservations are required through the MACC box office at mauiarts.org, opening Aug. 25.
• Observe & Play Family Day, in honor of Shirley Yokouchi — Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon. Families are invited to wear aloha attire, tour the exhibition, and create their own patterns at activity stations. No registration required.

More information is available at mauiarts.org.