About / Moʻolelo

Aloha mai,

My name is Zoe P-Li and I am the designer and founder of Selective HĀ. I am also a full-time 4th/5th grade teacher and progressive educator.  

I created Selective HĀ in 2019 while in fashion school at Honolulu Community College. Wanting to eventually create my own locally-based, sustainable fashion label here in Hawaii, I decided to start with reusable face masks. I was inspired by my Japanese co-workers that often wore disposable masks as a courtesy to their co-workers when they weren't feeling well. I wanted to create masks that would be more effective, sustainable, and fun.

Then pandemic happened. I was one of the few original mask makers and the business blew up over night. I had opportunities for huge investment and scaling of the business, but ultimately decided not to accept those funds, to stay small and continue building bit by bit. Then I had a baby and slowed down even more.

In 2023 I re-started getting out designs that had been inside my mind and heart for a while. Starting with the Aunties Collection, I wanted to make garments that celebrate (some of) the folks that I believe will save the world -- that do it everyday. I remember when I was first called "Aunty" by a student in my early 20's, I was slightly offended - I didn't want to be that old! - but I've come to wear the title like a badge of honor. Plus, my seven year-old neighbor already calls herself Aunty (kids be knowing!), so. . .

Our baby and toddler wetsuits came from a long-held dream to design wetsuits, and then an immediate need to keep our baby daughter warm and feeling good in the ocean. I have been making my own bathing suits for more than a decade, and have neoprene pieces I've made that are still in the rotation after many, many seasons of surf. My daughter and I have put these wetsuits through the ringer and I'm very proud to have a refined product built for accompanying the earliest years of life in the water. I am also very proud of our partnership with Yamamoto Corporation, and our decision to exclusively use their neoprene. It is rare to find a company of such quality, integrity and innovation today. 

My slow-sewn upcycled pieces are where I get to create freely as I would all the time if the world weren't run by money. They are inspired, one of a kind pieces, made mostly if not entirely from fashion waste. They are hope for a new world made visible.

Selective HĀ allows me to keep designing and my teaching allows the business to circumvent the pressures of scaling. Both designing and teaching give my life meaning and connect me with little people, who are our greatest treasures. For me, the point is to leave this planet thriving for them and their childrenʻs children. I am grateful that we have stayed small and grateful to you for checking us out!

‘O Hawai‘i ke kahua o ka ho‘ona‘auao. Hawai‘i is the foundation of our learning!

Me ke aloha,

Aunty Zoe