276 Haili St
Hilo, HI 96720
USA
It’s hard to believe that only a matter of decades separated the simple yet beautiful traditional Native Hawaiian clothing from what is now known as the Belle Époque style of the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods in Europe … a style embraced by Hawai‘i’s royalty and visible in photographs of the era. As the ali‘i adopted Western ideas, technologies, faiths, and forms of government, so they made European fashions their own. This is a unique, joint PowerPoint presentation and live modeling of garments reproduced by Irisgil Viacrusis in the first phase of a very special project for the ‘Iolani Palace: Queen Kapi‘olani’s Lei Hulu and Peacock gowns, and Queen Lili‘uokalani’s Coronation and Ribbon gowns. It covers their individual histories, including how the garments were reconstructed from the pieces preserved in the Bishop Museum. Related featherwork and fabric are shown, and live models demonstrate how such garments were supported by undergarments, corsets, bustles, and petticoats. Iris also gives us a glimpse at the second phase of this one-of-a-kind project: Kings’ clothing, Queen Lili‘uokalani’s Summer Whites and Traveling Suit, plus Princess Ka‘iulani’s Gibson Ball Gown. See how our ali‘i represented the Hawaiian Kingdom to the rest of the world through the Victorian—Edwardian etiquette of “dressing the part,” on either of two occasions: Monday evening, October 16, or a “matinée” on the following afternoon, October 17.
Free to Lyman Museum members; $3 nonmembers.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for evening public programs. Limited seating; first come, first seated. Additional parking next door at Hilo Union School ON MONDAY EVENING ONLY.