Hulu Nēnē By MANAOLA

Discover the beautifully sculptural Hulu Nēnē dress by fashion icon Manaola Yap, a designer and cultural practitioner from Hawaiʻi, within the Pitt Rivers Museum galleries.

Displayed in a case in near the centre of the museum court on the ground floor, this installation is part of the journey through the Hawaiian landscape offered through the museum’s current special exhibition Hawaii: Ma uk to Ma kai.

Through the special collection of their designs, Manaola honors and pays homage to the great warrior chief, Kamehameha, Pai`ea. Born on Hawai`i Island in secrecy and taken to safety by a swift runner to the high cliffs of `Awini Kohala, the infant king was hidden in the caves to escape the order of Alapa`i Nui that the infant be put to death. The Designer gains his inspiration from ancestral chants, and stories speaking of the youthful years of the royal child.