Early next month, Ralph Lauren will introduce The Hoffman Collection, a limited-edition capsule of Hawaiian-style prints inspired by legendary surfer Walter Hoffman’s personal archives.
After serving at Pearl Harbor in the early 1950s, where he was a member of the U.S. Navy surf and swim teams, Hoffman began to sell tropical-print fabrics through his family’s textile business, Hoffman California Fabrics, which was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Mission Viejo, Calif. He is credited with popularizing the traditional “aloha” shirt and creating the roots of modern surfwear.
The Polo collection will feature camp shirts, shorts and canvas sneakers for men in three original floral prints from the Hoffman archives: South Pacific Floral, Coconut Grove Floral and The Big Kahuna.
The Hoffman Collection shorts in the Big Kahuna print.
