Show at Hawaii Theatre celebrates cultural designs
Tickets are on sale at Hawaii Theatre for the 2014 Maoli Arts Month Wearable Arts Show taking place there at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The fashion show will feature creations by Native Hawaiian designers Harinani Orme, Lauwa‘e, Maile Andrade, Manuheali‘i, Marques Marzan, Puamana Crabbe, Wahine Toa, Keone Nunes and others. The showcase will include traditional and contemporary Hawaiian fashion, jewelry, ceremonial wear, Polynesian tattoos and more.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction and entertainment followed by a trunk show. It’s part of the larger Maoli Arts Month presented by PA‘I, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of Hawaiian cultural traditions.
Tickets are $20, $35 and $60.
Check out keiki aloha wear and more at New Baby Expo
The 17th annual New Baby Expo returns to the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The event is a shopping, entertainment and information resource for prenatal to preschool needs, featuring early childhood products and services, activities and demonstrations.
Among the 150 vendors is Keiki Elements (formerly BeloBe Baby), which will be launching a new line of keiki aloha wear for boys and girls ages 2 to 8. The home-based business run by Jaclyn Carreira, a mother of three, includes aloha shirts, dresses and tank tops.
The line showcases some of the artwork created by her children and printed on shirts and hats.
Keiki Elements can also be found at The Growing Keiki, Native Books/Na Mea Hawai‘i, the Castle Medical Center gift shop and ‘Ohana Island Style.
General admission to the expo is $5.50 per person; children 5 and younger are admitted free. Visit www.newbabyexpo.com.
Fighting Eel brings apparel production back to the isles
When Fighting Eel launches its summer collection Tuesday, it’ll have the same casual vibe the brand has been known for in its decade-long existence. The collection features many of the local brand’s greatest hits, the styles customers continue to request.
But for the first time since founders Lan Chung and Rona Bennett pieced their early collections together by hand, production of the brand’s collections is returning to Hawaii from Los Angeles.
Although Bennett said it costs more to ship fabric to Hawaii, the move will give them more control as to which colors and products to produce first — and with visitor-oriented traffic to their stand-alone boutiques in Kailua and Waikiki, Bennett said the ability to promote "Made in Paradise" garments will be a plus.
"We will definitely use it as a selling point for sure. I think it will make a difference. We know that everyone loves ‘Made in Hawaii’ products," Bennett said.
Fighting Eel stores are at 1133 Bethel St., Royal Hawaiian Center and 629 Kailua Road.
