Original Aloha...The story behind the Print

Here's a short essay I wrote about the legendary relationship between Hoffman California & Quiksilver. It originally was published in the Quiksilver Women's Summer 2012 line book for the collaboration which is just hitting the marketplace now.

"THE BEST PART OF HANGING OUT WITH WALTER IS THE STORY TELLING. FIVE MINUTES AFTER WALKING INTO WALTER’S SURF MUSEUM OF AN OFFICE, HE PULLED A PAIR OF OLD BOARDSHORTS OFF HIS WALL. “ALAN GREEN GAVE ME THESE FOUR DECADES AGO,” HE SAID. “IN THE EARLY ’70s, QUIKSILVER ONLY HAD SOLID BOARDSHORTS AND ALAN WANTED US TO CREATE A BORDER PRINT JUST LIKE THESE.” HE HANDED THEM TO ME AND ASKED, “SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THEM?”

That very exchange gave birth to this summer’s Original Aloha Short — and the Quiksilver + Hoffman collaboration itself. We translated the short as a two-way engineer exactly like the original, complete with an exposed coconut button fly. We did them in an easy, pull-on women’s fit (remember, the reference sample from the ’70s was men’s). Finally, after much deliberation over the perfect cloth to print these on, we thought it best to go with the original 100% Cotton “CB Poplin” that Hoffman has been printing on for years…
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Further inspirations were pulled directly from Hoffman’s double-decker archives in Mission Viejo, California. As Walter personally dusted off old headers of fabric, he explained each grouping like he had created it yesterday. I chose one piece because it loosely reminded me of Hokusai’s famous painting, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” — the actual inspiration for Quiksilver’s Mountain & Wave logo. Working with Hoffman’s artists, we changed the original palate of ‘60s-era bold, fluorescent colors to the soft, coastal blues evident in the Heritage Swell Blouse and Maxi Dress. I love the exaggerated scale of this print and the way it flows on the Heritage Swell Maxi Dress. It reminds me of the spirit of surfing I see every time I look at Quiksilver’s Mountain & Wave logo.

Other prints brought back to life include the Original Blossoms and the Retro Seascape. The Original Blossoms Dress and Bikini give a strong nod to the Aloha Spirit of the ’50s and ’60s. We painstakingly worked with Hoffman’s artists to achieve the same ombre effect in the Retro Seascape Short that the original print achieved decades ago. These selections round out a Hoffman collaboration totaling six exclusive prints across 16 styles, from dresses and tops all the way through shorts and bikinis. The original source, Hoffman California Fabrics, was the perfect punctuation for Quiksilver’s modern coastal classic design aesthetic — always looking to the past to inspire the future. Walter and his family are personally connected to every bolt of fabric and thread of cloth. The walls of the warehouse are lined with legendary wave-craft spanning seven decades. Bottom line, when you sit down with Walter, all you need to do it listen. Next, you take all of these stories, the original aloha spirit, and the practical wisdom... but you don’t just regurgitate it, you put it through a modern lens and produce something brand new. If you bring it back to Walter and he gives you a reassuring smile and tells you it’s good, you know it’s something special!

With Walter’s blessing, we’re not dusting off old tales, we’re writing new ones.

Check out the collaboration on Facebook, bid on the limited edition dresses for charity on Ebay and here's Quik's Hoffman page online!!! Aloha!!!