FOR Upcycles Hawaiian Quilts Into Eco-Conscious Corsets and Dresses

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino; Model: Chloe Koizumi

Keely Nakama. Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Want to go out tonight, but haven’t got a stitch to wear? Honolulu designer Keely Nakama has you covered with her gorgeous one-of-a-kind corsets and dresses made from Hawaiian quilts. While crafting these special pieces is a relatively new endeavor for Nakama—she dreamt up her first quilted style just last year—she’s no stranger to eco-conscious fashions. Nakama opened and ran FOR Simple Sustainability, the Kaka‘ako boutique known for aesthetic zero-waste goods and upcycled apparel (including corsets made from alohawear), for several years before switching gears at the start of 2025.

The change was born from somewhat of a happy accident. “I was part of a business accelerator through which I did a whole bunch of customer research for the store, and I figured out, definitely begrudgingly, that I was known more for my corsets than my sustainable products,” Nakama says. “That kind of broke my heart. But once I figured out that I could change the industry and mindsets in a fashion sense, that’s when I was like, OK, I can really do something here.”

Her first quilt dress, a cerulean and white A-line stunner featuring a bold kahili pattern, was made from a Hawaiian quilt gifted by a family friend. “People always see the dress and say, how could you cut it up,” Nakama says. “But if you saw it in its original condition—it had been in storage for more than 40 years, there was a huge blood stain on it, the whole thing was yellow from discoloration, and it was really torn up from bugs eating at it. So this was my restoration project. I couldn’t let it deteriorate and go to waste.”

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Her signature corset style, made using smaller fabric panels, was well suited for the task, allowing her to pick and choose the best-preserved parts of the quilt. Nakama debuted the dress at last year’s Merrie Monarch Festival to rave reviews.

Since opening her new atelier in Pauoa this January, known simply now as FOR, Nakama has crafted several more made-to-measure quilted beauties. Actress Te Ao o Hinepehinga even wowed on the red carpet in a showstopping ochre style at the Chief of War premiere.

By extending the lives of these heritage quilts, which would otherwise be discarded, Nakama endeavors to celebrate their culture and history while carrying forward powerful messages about sustainability. “Textile really does hold weight—where it comes from, who wore it before,” she says. “I hope that our stamp on the fashion history in Hawai‘i is restoration and honoring a piece from its conception until its death.”

1993 Pauoa Road, Nu‘uanu, by appointment, knakama@for-simplesustainability.com, for-simplesustainability.com, @for_simplesustainability

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Brie Thalmann is the home and style editor of HONOLULU Magazine.