Inventor Of Hawaiian Shirt Dies
You’d be forgiven for never hearing of designer Alfred Shaheen.
Yet he inspired one of the most colourful, amusing and unforgettable styles of fashion ever known – the Hawaiian shirt.
Sadly the pioneering textile manufacturer has died at age 86, his family have confirmed.
As tourists from the US to Hawaii after World War II, many began to bring home colorful but cheesy looking shirts and sundresses that would be cause for much amusement among friends.
Shaheen began to change that in 1948 when he opened Shaheen’s of Honolulu and began designing, printing and producing “aloha” shirts, dresses and other ready-to-wear clothing of better quality.
Among those seen in Shaheen-designed shirts of that era was Elvis Presley, who wore one for the cover of his 1961 soundtrack album “Blue Hawaii.”
“Before Shaheen came along, there was no Hawaii garment industry. There were mom and pop stores but no real modern industry,” Linda Arthur, a professor of textiles and clothing at Washington State University said.
Photo by The Honolulu Advertiser.
cassy on January 8th, 2009 7:06 am
sorry to hear that! but his invention will still remain as memorable as he was,thanks Alfred Shaheen for your colorful shirt that most of the hawaiian people and tourist are wearing, your inventions wake up our mind to be more creative and to came up with our own invention that we can be proud in the near future!
Jaclyn on January 8th, 2009 4:13 pm
i’m sorry to hear that as well…it’s never easy to hear about someone passing on. and as sad as this may sound, i did not even realize that the hawaiian shirt had a single inventor. i guess i always’ assumed that it was invented by some big shirt factory or something.
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