Kini Zamora Releases New Palaka and Denim Styles and We’re Obsessed

Just what you need to get your 2018 wardrobe in check.

January 16, 2018

Brie Thalmann,

What better way to kick off the new year than with a fresh twist on an Island classic? For his Spring/Summer 2018 collection, local designer Kini Zamora transformed palaka, the traditional fabric of Hawai‘i’s plantation past, in new, exciting ways, playing with scale and opacity to create everything from trumpeted pencil skirts and point d’esprit-trimmed blouses to shimmering diaphanous gowns, even hand painting the check pattern onto swingy midi skirts.

MODEL: BRIENNE NIELSEN, LARSON TALENT HAWAI‘I. HAIR/MAKEUP: JONATHAN FREITAS, MOTIVES. PHOTO ASSISTANT: JAGGER NOVAK.

PHOTOS: TOMMY SHIH

Embroidered denim bomber jacket, $250, denim bralette, $100, painted skirt, $350, kinizamora.com. Lessnudist sandals, $398, Stuart Weitzman. Oscar de la Renta tassel earrings, $450, Vita Fede Ultra Titan Pearl-Band Ring, $275, Neiman Marcus. Lizzie Fortunato Arp silver ring with lapis, $195, We Are Iconic. Rola Finn Open Star 14K gold ring with diamonds, $510, Fighting Eel.

To balance the glammed-up takes, Zamora rounded out the collection with an array of denim pieces, a nod to the denim creations he dreamt up while competing on Project Runway, shaping the sturdy, working-class fabric into chic kimono tops, trenchcoats and high-waist pants. All showing that in the hands of the talented Zamora, basics are anything but square.

Denim kimono jacket, $450, ruffled palaka skirt, $250, kinizamora.com. Lessnudist sandals, $498, Stuart Weitzman. Oscar de la Renta fringe earrings, $380, Neiman Marcus.

Sheer palaka top, $250, denim high-waist pants, $150, kinizamora.com. Mansur Gavriel bag, $695, Aquazzura mules, $695, Vita Fede earrings, $220, Neiman Marcus, Ala Moana Center, (808) 951-8887.