The New Cultural Aesthetic
In Hawaiβi, being part of a community isnβt necessarily about a limited network in a particular space. Community stretches well beyond oneβs immediate βohana, and if you asked Native Hawaiian designer Keola Rapozoβco-founder of the popular, local brand FITTEDβheβd tell you that oneβs role within their community casts a much wider net.
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βBeing part of a community means kuleana, or a responsibility,β says Keola. βAs a father, husband, friend, son, and brother to my immediate family. But then thereβs all the concentric circles radiating outward where I have a keen responsibility to my community, to my neighbors, to people that donβt have access to food, shelter, clothing. So in a word, that role is: kuleana. My kuleana is a responsibility to provide.β
But to zero in on one of those roles, Keola certainly does an outstanding job of both designing and telling authentic, modern stories about Hawaiβi within his designsβsomething Hawaiβiβs fashion-space certainly needed providing. Indeed, the stories Keola tells within his work and limited FITTED capsules are narratives that truly resonate, both local communities, and beyond. Imagery like golden heirloom bangles, King Kamehameha impressions, kahiko, and regional mom-and-pops eateries that redefine what a βHawaiian aestheticβ may or may not be.
βMostly my work doesnβt look Hawaiian or have some Hawaiian aesthetic,β confirms Keola. βI think that if we can create themes in different spaces and different mediums, then the idea of kanaka and being Hawaiian is less about aesthetic and more about the process.β
βBut I do believe that the storytelling medium is Hawaiiansβ greatest gift. Weβve always been a society of oration,β Keola continues. βWe have become natural storytellers in all aspects of communication, in all aspects of art. Itβs our greatest artform, so to speakβthe way we speak with our hands, the cadence, the pitch, the toneβthereβs a very Hawaiian way that we create these visual elements.β
Keola explains that, if anything, storytelling can be used as a tool for connecting communities. But, as he himself is a strong proponent for Hawaiian language, if communities could learn more of the language, the stories could be that much more meaningful. βPerpetuating language in a community, thatβs identity and restoration,β he says. βAnd my responsibility as a father is to make sure that I begin to mend and repair that lost language.β
