A Honolulu jewelry brand brought a team of Hawaiʻi creatives to New York Fashion Week in September. Island by Koa Nani staged four presentations combining its fine jewelry with work by Hawaiʻi designers and 12 models based in the islands.
The project was developed with the nonprofit Hawaiʻi Fashion Foundation, which supports Hawaiʻi-based models, designers and other creatives, according to KITV Island News. The station reports that the 12 models traveled from Hawaiʻi, alongside local talent in design, styling, photography and videography.
Four Shows, Four Different Scenes Across Manhattan and Brooklyn
The presentations began September 11 at Gotham Hall and Bryant Park Loft in Manhattan, according to KITV. A separate Bureau Fashion Week page covers the September 11–13 program, but does not establish that Island by Koa Nani was among the labels in Gotham Hall’s opening lineup.
The brand moved to Brooklyn on September 12 for a show at Post Up at Baci Studio, where the presentation featured bright blues, ocean-inspired aloha prints and palaka, per the same KITV account. The run closed out September 13 at Flying Solo's Vanderbilt rooftop in Manhattan, with a final presentation built around pastel colors and metallic blue makeup.
Jewelry Built on Hawaiian Tradition and Ocean Motifs
The showcased collection leaned hard into ocean imagery, featuring forms including octopus, starfish, jellyfish, seahorses, fishhooks, anchors and humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, the state fish, the station's report states. Gemstones included larimar, sustainable deep-blue prisme opal, white and blue topaz, and aquamarine.
Island by Koa Nani describes its own Koa Nani line as an eclectic, contemporary take on traditional Hawaiian jewelry styles worn as early as the 1800s, according to the brand's own collection page. The company says its handcrafted pieces come out of a design studio in Waikiki Beach, per its website. Per the KITV account, the collection was designed to encourage greater awareness of protecting the waters that inspire Hawaiʻi's creative identity.
A Roster of Hawaiʻi Designers Shared the Spotlight
The project did not rest on jewelry alone. Featured designers across the four shows included Lola Pilar, Lani Lau, Uu Hawaiʻi, Ailina Crochet Maui, Bloss Atelier and Waioha Collections, the outlet reports.
That kind of multi-designer format is becoming a familiar path for independent labels chasing exposure at Fashion Week. A separate Flying Solo presentation this season brought together independent designers from 34 countries spanning womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, coordinating 620 outfits across six individual show times, according to Fashion Week Online.
Hawaiʻi's Fashion Scene Keeps Pushing for National Stages
Island by Koa Nani is not the only Hawaiʻi label chasing a Fashion Week moment this year. Kona-based designer Jamiana Tam opened applications earlier this year for local models to showcase her Hilia Swimwear collection in September, asking applicants for a full-body photo, a headshot and a walking video, and launching a GoFundMe to help cover travel costs, according to Hawaii News Now. One designer told the outlet the goal is to let people from the islands walk a global runway while staying rooted in who they are and where they come from.
Hawaiʻi's state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism describes the islands' fashion industry as growing and increasingly connected to the global fashion community, with established local brands collaborating alongside emerging designers, though that characterization comes from a search snippet on the agency's site.
How the shows fit into Hawaiʻi’s fashion story
The term “New York Fashion Week” does not by itself confirm that a presentation appeared on the official schedule. The CFDA says it has been the sole organizer of the Official NYFW Schedule since acquiring the Fashion Calendar in October 2014; the coverage cited here does not establish whether Island by Koa Nani’s presentations were listed on that schedule. Hawaiʻi designers have also had separate New York presentations: KHON2 reported that Micah Kamohoaliʻi took part in Runway 7 at Sony Hall in 2021, and Hawaii News Now reported that Sharayah Chun-Lai was invited to present her aloha attire there in 2022.
State economic figures offer a limited measure of the sector: the Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported that non-durable goods manufacturing grew 7.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The category includes apparel, but also food and beverage products and printing, so it is not a measure of the fashion industry alone, according to DBEDT.
What Comes Next for the Honolulu Brand
Island by Koa Nani has already been invited to return to New York Fashion Week, KITV reports. The brand also plans to expand its jewelry collections with more colorful gemstones, classic engraving and fashion-forward everyday designs, according to the same report, and is said to be preparing to open physical stores in Hawaiʻi, though locations and timing have not been confirmed. The team also hopes to explore opportunities at Paris Fashion Week, per KITV, though no Paris presentation has been booked or confirmed.
