Art of the Aloha Shirt: Keoni of Hawaii at Tacoma Art Museum
Art of the Aloha Shirt: Keoni of Hawaii, 1938–1951 July 1 – September 11, 2022 A traveling exhibition from Exhibits USA. Explore the history, artistry, and production of Hawaii’s enduring fashion statement, the Aloha shirt. This exhibition of 60 objects, including original textile artwork, production sketches and swatches, advertisements, and vintage shirts, tells the story of an early innovator, John “Keoni” Meigs, in an industry that has left an indelible mark on fashion in the United States and the world. Although many claim authorship, the exact origin of the Aloha Shirt remains uncertain. The patterns of Polynesian tapa cloth, the colorful and bold floral designs of Tahitian pareau, and the sheer Japanese fabric used for making kimonos are often cited as some of the early stylistic influences of the shirt. Sometime in the late 1920s to the early 1930s, when Hawaii’s economy began to shift from an agricultural to a service-oriented economy and tourists started f...