How HIHO, Born in Tortola, Became an Iconic Caribbean Clothing Brand
How HIHO Became an Iconic Caribbean Fashion Brand
You see it all over the Caribbean: it’s one of the most recognizable shirts in the Caribbean: the HIHO shirt. In four decades, Tortola-based HIHO has evolved into arguably the most iconic fashion brand in the Caribbean, from its signature UPF shirts to its hats and shirts and more, many of which support top events and festivals in the region — led by the ultra-popular Painkiller Cup.
To learn more about how the company has evolved from its start in 1986, Caribbean Journal caught up with Andy Morrell, HIHO’s founder, about the brand’s beginnings, its newest deigns and how HIHO has gone global.
How did the HIHO brand get its start?
It all started with a T-shirt…. I was a very keen windsurfer racer and competed in and placed 1st in the 1986 Johnnie Walker Hook-In-Hold-On race. The event folded after that and I joined the windsurfing World Cup. Then I bought there HIHO name and re-sartred the event. We designed a cool T-shirt with a sun logo and sold the shirts in a couple stores in Tortola, plus we have them out to all the racers. It mushroomed from there with Neil Pryde, one of the early supporters of our new version of the HIHO event, encouraging us to build a brand. We started making rash guards, beach bags, etc. It kind of grew from there and by the time we put the HIHO race to bed in 2012 (we ran it for 20-years) the brand had enough momentum to get a lot of our attention.
Why is the BVI and the Caribbean important to the HIHO brand?
It’s where we are from. We grew up in the BVI. As kids we spent lots of time sailing, at the beach and in mango trees. And we still live here. We raised our family in Tortola and run HIHO from here. We are influenced by our pristine island environment, the colors of the Caribbean and the easy going lifestyle.
HIHO fashions seem to have gotten more sophisticated over the past 5 years. Is that true?
Our brand has evolved a lot. Our designs haven’t become more sophisticated but we’ve learned how to better make, market and deliver a great product. And our collections have grown broader. We now deliver 5 x collections each year.
You have a store in Tortola? Are there other HIHO stores?
We have a store in Tortola at The Moorings marina, and a larger store at Rosewood Little Dix Resort on Virgin Gorda. Other than that we are online at www.go-hiho.com
I see HIHO in a lot of places. How many retailers do you work with?
HIHO can be found in over 200 stores from Alabama to Maine, plus in the Caribbean. And we are slowly moving to the West Coast!
You have had a lot of success with UV blocking items. Can you tell us about those products?
Some of our most successful products are our UPF50 shirts. We developed a lightweight pique knit material that block the suns harmful rays yet is lightweight and very comfortable. It’s been a very successful product for us. We make a wide variety of mens and women’s styles. One thing we are able to do with this product is customise it for clients. We make shirts for yachts, hotels and resorts like Necker Island, Seaside, Ritz Carlton hotels and Rosewood Little Dix Resort.
Would you say HIHO represents a type of clothing or particular style of fashion? What is the future for that style?
HIHO is all about easy-to-wear and comfortable clothing. We careful choose the best materials like pima cotton, soft linen and comfortable rayon. A lot of our designs are classic and “timeless”, but really we just make clothes that you want to wear if you are living casually.
You have always run an event every year. Why is that important and what are you doing this year?
Running events is in our DNA. Our first business was a big windsurfing event called Hook-In-Hold-On or HIHO. We stopped running the big HIHO windsurfing adventure 12 years ago but we still put on the 1-day Painkiller Cup every January. Running events is fun. It’s great to see people having a good time at the beach or on the water.
Guy Britton is the managing editor of Caribbean Journal.
