When Mamo Howell closed her boutique and factory in March 2011, it was easy to assume the designer was choosing retirement over work.

But that wasn’t the case. Now, at age 83, she’s back, having partnered with a former competitor, Hilo Hattie, and she’ll be showcasing some of her latest work during a Mother’s Day fashion show luncheon at the Ihilani Resort & Spa on Sunday.

Howell, who began her fashion career as a model, working in New York and Paris, said she had been looking for other opportunities long before closing her shop, just as she had when making the transition from modeling to designing.

"I was getting older, and I love working, but at the same time I thought I’d better start looking around for something else because I don’t want to do the 8-to-5 thing every day," she said. "It’s like when I was a dancer and model. There’s only a small window of time when you can do those things. It’s like being an athlete."

In partnering with Hilo Hattie, she now finds herself free to work on her prints without the stress of worrying about rent, personnel or production.

"It was a lot to do and I thought I had to slow down a bit. My family suffers, too, when I’m working all the time."

Howell still intends to infuse her designs with elements of traditional Hawaiian culture, which set her brand apart when she started her business in 1978. She was the first to introduce Hawaiian quilt designs into fashion, and buyers initially didn’t get it.

"There were always nice things out there, but the prints were always more touristy. They were doing big flowers like the hibiscus but not the pikake lei or pakalana because they’re too small and not showy enough," she said. "I didn’t see our kapa or quilt designs represented, and I was out to separate myself from the competition.

"Now, everybody does the ilima and maile, but they didn’t before."

When she did come out with her quilt patterns and island flower prints, she said, "It was so new buyers didn’t understand it. They were scared by the colors. They said, ‘Oh no, you can’t put orange and green together.’ It took five years before Liberty House bought it, then Carol & Mary picked it up."

Just as in the past, Howell said, "I believe in my mission of getting our Hawaiian culture out. When I see a lady walking down the mall in one of my dresses or a guy in one of my shirts, I feel proud because it keeps the culture going."