Members of the public got the chance to see a replica of royal history at ʻIolani Palace this past Friday.
The date marked the birthday of Princess Kaʻiulani, and the ʻIolani Palace celebrated the occasion by unveiling a reproduction of an ivory ballgown worn by Hawaiʻi’s last princess.
The gown was produced as part of the Aliʻi Garment Reproduction Project, which recreated garments worn by Hawaiian royalty from King Kalākaua to Queen Liliʻuokalani.
Historic costume designer Iris Gil Viacrusis was commissioned to create the reproduction. He explained that the Victorian-era dress featured beadwork and intricate embroidery and was particularly moving because of its wearer and her youth: Princess Kaʻiulani died at the age of 23.
HPR spoke with Viacrusis to learn more about the history behind the dress.
Interview Highlights
On the story woven into the gown
IRIS GIL VIACRUSIS: The significant part about this gown is, like I said, it has a lot of nice story to tell about the princess. … So one is the national flower of Scotland. So basically, she actually was schooled there, and her father is from Scotland. It's actually a thistle, and while she was in school, one of the favorite things that she does is actually painting, and her favorite subject is actually the poppy flower. So there's the poppy flower right there that you see.
And you actually have some Hawaiian elements … one is they actually have crown flowers on here, so you can see the little cross kind of thing, and then on this particular thing here, on the petals of her sleeves, there's actually little flower-shaped sequins that is cut. What does that remind you of? … It's a pīkake, and it's actually even created to make it look like a lei.
On researching and recreating the gown
VIACRUSIS: This is the actual size because pieces of the gown actually do exist where we actually get the measurements from. Just like any gowns that I actually recreated, are actually the sizes of the aliʻi because of the existing pieces that we took measurements from. So that's why we meticulously tried to recreate it, like I showed you the inside, that it's not just like created aesthetically, so then you actually have the real evidence. That's why it's actually a reproduction of the gown.
On celebrating Princess Kaʻiulani’s life
VIACRUSIS: She didn't get to rule, and so there's actually a much more romantic feel to her rather than how majestic the queens were and the king. So this one actually represents that ingenue, you know, the young generations. Somehow imagine the princess getting ready to step onto a ball. … to me, it gives that sense of joy rather than sadness. … A lot of times they actually would call her the tragic princess, but in her own writings, you know, she felt like she was privileged and had a happy life. Sadly cut short, but she felt privileged; the fact that she actually got to travel and got to see some parts of the world.
This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 19, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
