ISLAND STYLE
Conservatively fashionable

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Fashion Writer

In a nod to the mod look, James Arriola sports a Jack Shirt, while Kellie Peterson wears a Kiyomi creation, center, and Jennifer Hera is in an Asian-inspired dress and jacket designed by Kiyomi for Iolani Sportswear. Photos by Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

In Milan, Donatella Versace flashes her attributes (and those of her reed-thin models) in slinky dresses cut to reveal much and conceal little. In New York, movie stars shock with flashes of flesh in their borrowed couture creations. In Paris, a collection without flash would be lost in the fray.

Not so in Hawai'i, where our designers are anything but flashy. In fact, one of our Islands' first families of fashion, the Kawakamis, is so understated that it's easy to miss them altogether as they quietly go about their business behind an unmarked green door in a second-story workshop in Kaka'ako.

The company is so low-key, in fact, that when it was announced they had won an award at the 2003 Governor's Fashion Awards, no one from Iolani Sportswear would go up to the podium to accept the award without dire coercion.

Yet Iolani Sportswear has roots that stem back five decades and include a background in Paris-style couture. As the company celebrates its 50th year, we sat down with two generations of the Kawakami family to learn more.

The Kawakamis from Kaua'i

Although the founders of Iolani Sportswear, Edith and Keiji Kawakami, are from Koloa, Kaua'i, their penchant for the fashion business was spawned in New York. Keiji, a World War II veteran and member of the "Go for Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat Team, used the GI Bill to earn a master's degree in business from New York University.

Upon returning to Kaua'i, his hope was to work in a discount store. At the time, there were no opportunities on the island, so the young couple moved to Honolulu, where Keiji helped a friend with his silk-shirt business, Victory Imports. Shortly thereafter, the Kawakamis bought the business and began making aloha shirts and "pake" jackets (in the traditional Chinese style) of kabe silks from Japan.

Son Lloyd Kawakami, who is now president of the company, remembers playing in a playpen at the back of the manufacturing plant on Beretania Street, where the roof leaked onto the dirt floor.

The company has always taken a conservative approach. Rather than building up a big inventory, they cut and sew to order. Iolani Sportswear garments, under three labels (Iolani, Young Hawaii and Island Moments by Emme) are sold by many major retailers, including Macy's, Sears and Hilo Hattie's.

In spite of the company's conservatism, Edith said her husband's philosophy has always been "The name of the game in this business is change."

Until recently, the company's sales focus has been in Hawai'i because, Lloyd explained, "Dad always said that until you saturate the Hawai'i market, you have no business elsewhere." Iolani Sportswear is now expanding into Mainland markets, especially Sun Belt states such as California and Florida.

More change: While Lloyd says, "We are not retailers," Iolani is also making a foray into in-store Iolani boutiques. The first is inside Hilo Hattie's Nimitz store, and the company is looking at other possible partnerships.

Asked how his family-owned company has survived 50 years in an extremely tough business, Lloyd replied unequivocally: "The people." He told the story of Iolani Sportswear seamstresses who took such pride in their work that they would scout the stores on their days off to check the sewing on the company's garments. If they found even the slightest inadequacy, they would report back to Edith and follow through on a correction.

The Kawakamis offered employees profit-sharing as early as the 1960s. The move has helped them attract and retain good people, Lloyd said.

The couture connection

Peterson wears a '70s pantsuit and Arriola a knit Jack Shirt by Iolani Sportswear. The models are from the ADR Agency.

Hirose translated these techniques into unique Island- and Asian-inspired garments that set Iolani's clothes apart from the ordinary shapeless mu'umu'u. Among her most popular designs was an off-the-shoulder neckline with a graceful cowl that framed the face, a style still being echoed today.

Her 1963 creation, "Black Coral," was a simple Jackie O shift with abstract art tumbling down the front panel and a keyhole in the back.

For fashion-forward men

Designing the men's line for more than 30 years was Jackson Morisawa, a graphic artist who had no previous experience in clothing. He built the company's reputation for innovative engineering techniques such as die-cut collars, pockets sewn into princess seams, buckle tab fronts and pin tucks.

While these details, and others such as covered buttons and welt pockets, drove up the cost of the garments, Morisawa justified them, Lloyd said, with the explanation: "I'm not trying to sell to 90 percent of the market — only the 10 percent that has taste."

In the late '60s and early '70s, when the Bishop Street gentleman was adjusting to the transition from suits to aloha shirts, Morisawa offered a plethora of alternatives to ordinary (and often gaudy) aloha shirts.

The Jack Shirt and the Hapa Jack, a shorter version, came in subtle colors with a simple silk-screened image on the front. The pleats and covered buttons in the back of the waist of this blouson-style shirt added a dash of tailoring that appealed to businessmen.

The Beau Tiki line took the resort look into evening with white lace insets on the front and sleeves. It's a style that's seeing a resurgence as the loungewear look appeals to the new generation.

For the next generation ...

When Lloyd's son Nicholas, 20, a junior at the University of Portland in Oregon, was home last summer, he and a hui of friends worked on the company Web site.

"I gave them complete autonomy for the virtual store," Lloyd said. They are now ready to launch an online store, and he has promised them a percentage of every sale.

Reach Paula Rath at prath@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5464.