Cheers, Roberta, to 20 Years!
Designer Roberta Oaks reflects on celebrating her 20th anniversary in the local fashion industry.
Roberta Oaks in her new mu‘umu‘u design. Photo: Credit Paul Strouse
“I never in a million years would have imagined myself as a menswear designer in Hawai‘i,” Roberta Oaks says. It was 2004 when the self-proclaimed “country girl” from Missouri started her label in Honolulu with a handful of womenswear styles. Since then, Oaks has become synonymous with alohawear, thanks to her expansion into aloha shirts, spurred by the opening of her first storefront in 2009.
“I hadn’t even considered that until putting myself physically into Chinatown and seeing all these guys walking by in aloha shirts,” she says. Today, many of the shirts passing by are her own. “It makes my heart sing,” Oaks says. “When I see people wearing the shirts and looking confident in them, those are the moments when I feel like I’ve created something real.”
To celebrate her 20th anniversary, Oaks will host in-shop events in summer and fall. Keep an eye out for a special 20-year collection, fresh prints and dress shapes, including a chic mu‘umu‘u. Extended sizes and a new material—rayon—are also in the works.
1152 Nu‘uanu Ave., (808) 526-1111, robertaoaks.com, @robertaoakshawaii
