Come summer, the Hawaiian-print shirt is ubiquitous, once looked down upon as bad fashion reserved for sartorially challenged tourists and dads yet now a seasonal staple for many. But there are few prints as iconic as those from legendary surfer Walter Hoffman (of Hoffman International Fabrics), which is exactly why Ralph Lauren partnered with the icon to created a limited-edition capsule collection of Hawaiian-style prints inspired by his personal archive.
Following service in the early 1950s at Pearl Harbor (where he was a member of both the U.S. Navy surf and swim teams), Hoffman joined his family’s textile business and began to sell tropical print fabrics, eventually going on to help popularize the traditional “aloha shirt” which would quickly become a key style of modern surf wear.
Drawing inspiration from Hoffman’s extensive personal collection of aloha shirts, the Hoffman Collection consists of camp-collar button-downs, swim trunks and Harpoon sneakers rendered in three original floral patterns: South Pacific Floral, Coconut Grove Floral and The Big Kahuna, each featuring vibrant motifs that manage to capture the beauty of Hawaii’s breathtaking flora. Because the collection is limited-edition, only a select number of each item was made. Snag a piece or two now and transport yourself to paradise.
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