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Iolani Palace Restoration Project Recreates the Gowns of Hawaiian Ali’i

Iolani Palace
Iolani Palace

The public will get a glimpse into the lives and fashions of Hawai‘i’s monarchs.

The Friends of Iolani Palace are unveiling the first dress in their Ali‘i Gown Reproduction project.  Big Island historic dress designer Iris Viacrusis was commissioned to reproduce the clothing based on photographs and artifacts.  There are currently three gowns being reproduced including the lei hulu and peacock gowns worn by Queen Kapi‘olani, and ostrich feather gown worn by Queen Lili‘uokalani.

Teresa Valencia is the curator of ‘Iolani Palace.  She says the ali‘i sought out the top dressmakers in New York, London and Paris and added their own Hawaiian twist into the design. 

The first dress goes on display in Bloomingdales at Ala Moana before being returned to ‘Iolani palace at the end of the month where it will become part of the Palace’s permanent exhibit.

Nick Yee’s passion for music developed at an early age, as he collected jazz and rock records pulled from dusty locations while growing up in both Southern California and Honolulu. In college he started DJing around Honolulu, playing Jazz and Bossa Nova sets at various lounges and clubs under the name dj mr.nick. He started to incorporate Downtempo, House and Breaks into his sets as his popularity grew, eventually getting DJ residences at different Chinatown locations. To this day, he is a fixture in the Honolulu underground club scene, where his live sets are famous for being able to link musical and cultural boundaries, starting mellow and building the audience into a frenzy while steering free of mainstream clichés.
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