This is the story of two fathers and sons, and a Hawai'i fashion legacy that dates back to 1936. It's about a family-owned local menswear brand that has been resuscitated and is now opening the first store in its 72-year history. And it's about a company that has taken a roller coaster ride over the years, yet never strayed far from its heart and soul: the ocean.

The fathers and sons are Howard and Dale Hope of Sun Fashions and HRH, and Mort and Josh Feldman of Tori Richard. The company is Kahala. Both fathers are now deceased, but the sons carry on their fathers' legacies.

Dale Hope, author of "The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands," is heading up the team that's bringing back the Kahala brand, named after the place where he grew up and the beaches where he began his lifelong passion for ocean sports. To revive Kahala, Hope and Feldman have put together a team of retailers, artists, surfboard makers and textile designers, all of whom have a passion for the ocean and all the sports it offers up. Even the hang tag was written by surfing legend Gerry Lopez, who has a love of the aloha shirt.

Hope had ended his long association with Kahala five years before to work on a new line of aloha wear with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, but bringing him back was a first order of business for Josh Feldman.

"When we had the opportunity to acquire the brand, we knew the soul of Kahala left in 2001 with Dale," Feldman said. So the first thing he did was to ask him to return.

In another nod to father-son dynasties, the grandson of Nat Norfleet, the originator of the Kahala brand in 1936, will be working at the store.

And the manager of the store, Krishna Chatterjee, is about to be a father, any day now. Chatterjee, who was raised in Kailua and Hawai'i Kai, is a surfer, paddler and triathlete. He has paddled the Moloka'i Channel, run marathons, competed in open ocean swim races and finished Ironman competitions in New Zealand and Arizona.

As Kahala opens the doors of its Ala Moana Center store, Hope has a clear concept of who the 21st century Kahala customer is: "He's a waterman, but he's also cultured and vibrant. He resonates with all the artists (we hire), and (says), 'Hey, wow, we get it!' "

THE TEXTILE DESIGNERS

Kahala, and Hope, have a tradition of working with Island artists, who are often watermen, to create the textile designs appearing on their aloha shirts.

Surfer magazine publisher, photographer, artist and Maui resident John Severson draws from his lifelong collection of surf and Hawai'i images to create new paintings, block prints and digital compositions that end up on men's backs. "He depicts surfing like nobody else, with a sense of excitement and fun. He gets it," Hope said.

Textile artist Emma Howard, who has a studio in her Kailua carport, spends hours on the beach looking for detritus she can use to create textile designs for Kahala. She is a great believer in "reduce, reuse, recycle." One of her prints was carved into an old surfboard block that had been floating in the ocean for a long time and washed up onto Kailua Beach. The resulting print, Hope said, "Has an uncalculated charm. It's even got little divots that come across in the print."

Maui artist June Yatsunoff has been working with Hope for two decades. She specializes in retro pareu prints, which are seeing a resurgence in popularity.

THE COLLATERAL

Kahala's logo is an example of the company's approach to artistic content: unexpected, unconventional and blessed with more than a soupcon of serendipity and spontaneity.

The photo that morphed into the logo is of Jimmy Thurston surfing his father's four-man outrigger canoe — alone, sitting in the back, with his paddle lifted out of the water. "I have watched this guy paddling his outrigger at Tonggs for decades," said Hope. "He's out there all alone, in his father's canoe. He's the unspoken hero of the canoe on the South Shore."

Kahala's marketing pieces (logo, booklets, catalogs, bumper stickers) won the Best in Show at the Pele Awards last year. These are the awards presented by the Honolulu Advertising Federation, the industry's Academy Awards, so to speak. The stunning graphics and lyrical language, a creative effort of the Tori Richard team, clearly communicate a love affair with the ocean.

All of Kahala's photography is by JOSS, another waterman who is a friend of both Hope's and Chatterjee's.

The company's brochure copy is unusual as well, written by Peter Brown, a Punahou graduate who recently retired from his advertising agency in Southern California and returned to the Islands. Twenty-four words were selected that target the "Kahala man." The photos depict watermen shaping a surfboard, catching a wave in a one-man canoe, bonding with a honu (turtle), surfing with two young sons and celebrating the winning of an outrigger canoe race. Here is a sampling of the copy:

Artistry: The eye talking to the hand, doing the bidding of the heart.

Legacy: From generation to generation, the gift given and received, endlessly.

Grace: Remembering that life is more hula than disco.

History: The rearview mirror that's really a GPS.

Heart: That most stubborn muscle that refuses to quit, no matter the odds.

Dedication: Surpassing the limits of our bodies by listening to our hearts.

ON THE BUSINESS SIDE

The business side of Kahala, however, is far more calculated than the free-flowing creative side. Feldman said he was not trying to "buy the competition"; rather, he said, "We wanted an authentic brand about Hawai'i and its lifestyle. The Tori Richard brand is not that; it's a resort lifestyle brand with continental and global influences."

The Tori Richard customer and the Kahala customer, Feldman emphasized, are completely different, as are the fabrics, prices and look: Kahala is "a brand on its own, not just a label."

While the identities are separate, the sourcing, operations and manufacturing are melded, thus allowing for economies of scale.

Hope added, with a huge grin, "We couldn't have fallen into better hands."

Interestingly, Tori Richard has begun pulling some of its manufacturing out of Asia, bringing it back home to the Islands. About 50 percent of the Kahala shirts are made in Kalihi.

'MODERN SENSIBILITY'

The tiny interior of the new store (it's 750 square feet) is designed to have the look and feel of a boat taking sail. "It looks like an authentic boat," Hope said with characteristic excitement and an incredulous shake of his head. The store was designed by architect Wendy Tsuji, a local girl who now lives in California.

Feldman said the interior offers a "modern sensibility — living in the future but with a look to the past. There's not a glimmer of kitsch."

The store's installation has been a series of challenges. The glass panels at the front entrance each weigh 1,200 pounds, and it was a feat to get them installed. The curvy custom cabinetry, echoing the shapes of waves or the hull of a boat, were a feat of carpentry artistry.

The counter at the entrance to the store is made of a giant art glass piece that weighs 800 pounds and took a month to cool from the kiln. The base of the counter, which looks like weathered copper, was inspired by the door of a Malaekahana beach house which Feldman had photographed.

Surf-generation artist Michael Cassidy created two original paintings for the interior. Preeminent surfboard and paddleboard shaper Joe Bark designed a 22-foot-long prototype carbon-fiber paddleboard that hangs from the ceiling. There are also paintings by Big Island artist and waterman Mike Field, as well as a futuristic 13-foot Greg Noll surfboard.

"They are all fine craftsmen and they do it from their hearts," Hope said.

The custom cabinetry has meandering curves, "allowing the customer to flow through it as if it were a boat on the ocean," Chatterjee said.

Chatterjee looks at his job as part storyteller. "Everything in the store has a story," he said. "The art, architecture, prints and the legacy of fathers and sons. I get to be the orator sharing the passion. Hey, it's not just a print, there's a story behind each image."

Not only is this a testosterone-fueled project, the clothing and accessories are all for men as well. While Kahala briefly offered a line of women's clothing in the 1970s, now the brand strictly targets men. In spring 2009, there will be clothing for little boys.

Current offerings include aloha shirts in a refined rayon/cotton/linen blend, as well as a garment stone-washed cotton for the well-worn look and the company's traditional broadcloth. A full line of bottoms, including casual board shorts and organic cotton T-shirts, round out the collection. Prices for the core of Kahala products range from $50 to $70. Storewide, prices are $15 to $85.

There is also a carefully edited collection of men's accessories: Olukai slippers, Kaenon sunglasses and Reactor tide watches.

The store's merchandising is also meant to be man-friendly. Mannequins wearing the shirts or shorts are placed alongside little cubby holes with the same print, arranged according to size. There's no back stock — what you see is all that's available in the store. "It's a risk. It may work and it may not. We want it to have a residential feel so men can find a delight in shopping," Feldman said. The hope is that men will ask for assistance, giving Chatterjee's staff a chance to tell the story behind each print.

Even construction details make a nod to the waterman. "The stitching (on our aloha shirts) is done like board shorts, not aloha shirts. It's double stitching," Chatterjee said, holding up his hem and gesturing enthusiastically.

"Our plan is to add UV protective clothing," Feldman said. "Our goal is to be the complete outfitter for the waterman."

In short, "The Kahala man is living the dream," Hope said. This has become the brand's slogan.