University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Fashion Design and Merchandising program is celebrating Muʻumuʻu Month in January with a special Historic Fashion Collection exhibit of vintage muʻumuʻu — chosen by nearly 30 Waipahu High School students, who could be the future of Hawaiʻi’s fashion industry.
Fashion Design and Merchandising — housed within College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience — combines Hawaiʻi’s culture and agricultural heritage with modern design.
Inviting teens into the Historic Fashion Collection introduces them to potential career paths, ranging from designing to entrepreneurship and retail buying to sustainable fashion.
“It is our kuleana to help students succeed and find what they want to do in life,” said Fashion Design and Merchandising professor Andy Reilly. “We do this through the lens of fashion. Fashion starts with ‘dirt to shirt’ — from the people growing cotton to those developing new textiles from coffee beans.”…