PANTONE COLOR: HAWAI'I

Hawaii-based designer Matt Bruening allures us with his innovative and contemporary apparel brand. 

In the Native Hawaiian culture, there is a saying that says “A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka hālau ho'okāhi: all knowledge is not taught in the same school.”  More often than not, we become susceptible to a closed minded way of learning. So many think of Hawaii’s fashion scene as minuscule and limited – however, it is through the work of creative visionaries like Matt Bruening that we are able to learn more about the potential of Hawaii’s fashion scene as well as an innovative and contemporary outlook into the beauty of the Hawaiian culture as it’s blends into fashion.

 Born and raised in Makaha, on the West Side of Oahu, Honolulu-based designer Matt Bruening has been on our radar for quite some time, inspiring us with his individualistic approach to modern and effortless silhouettes. Bruening’s designs are an ode to the vibrant and unmatched beauty of Hawaii while seamlessly integrating inspiration from all over the world.

“Our last two collections were resort focused and our 2018 collection, Anywhere but Here, was inspired by the nostalgic 70s and modernizing the color palette with rich jewel tones and subdued warm hues to kind of bring in the ease of Hawaii but in classic styles. we also made a lot of one of kind pieces because they were made in vintage fabrics. Our latest resort collection, This Must Be The Place, again based off nostalgia, was more about providing a bright color palette in acid hues contrasted with bold black and white prints and solids in cottons, knits and again vintage or thrifted fabrics. It was a fun collection truly inspired by home here on O’ahu with styles ranging from polished casual pieces, keeping the consumers current wardrobe in mind, and easily injecting pieces from our collection in there with no fuss or second guesses. We also introduced a few new styles, but most of the collection consisted of favorites updated in new fabrics, prints and colors.”

Bruening’s refreshing approach is unlike any other we’ve seen on the islands – additionally, he interweaves sustainability to his model through a combination of small batch production and utilizing dead stock fabric. “From the beginning, all items were either made to order and custom because of limitation of the fabric I could afford and didn’t want to over produce. Moving forward, we then started to produce small runs of garments in Los Angeles where my manufacturer specialized in doing small production runs and followed moral protocols with her factory employees who worked in above standard conditions and paid competitive wages. I’ve also looked for fabric and would max out styles so we would use up the fabric efficiently. Another method was using dead stock fabric, or vintage fabric that would limit the run of styles but also create the desire for very limited-edition pieces.” Bruening tells us that he purchases fabric to a certain extent in order to fulfill larger quantiles while remaining conscious of their consumption and waste. He mentions that the fabrics also double as other items that they can make out of the remnants and scraps like their scrunchies, bucket hats, and masks. 

As the fashion scene in Hawaii continues to evolve, we are eager to continue to see the growth and expansion of vision exhibited by Matt Bruening and his effortlessly cool collections.

Model: @naiiapapaya

Words: Kiana Kanoa

Photos: Kiana Kanoa