\u201cChief of War\u201d transports viewers to Hawaii in the late 1700s through the details \u2014 Jason Momoa\u2019s Ka\u02bbiana hurls insults in Hawaiian on a blackened lava field before an epic battle while wearing a yellow \u02bbahu \u02bbula (feathered cape) and a hand-stamped kapa malo (loincloth).<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, costume designer Caroline Eselin-Schaefer took on the enormous task of creating all the attire for the Apple TV series set in ancient Hawaii.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It was) a huge responsibility to take on the telling of the history of Hawaii, and to do it as authentically as possible,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer, who spoke with Spectrum News Hawaii via video chat after a long day working in Chicago on the Netflix movie \u201cSaturn Return.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researching ancient Hawaii<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cChief of War\u201d is set in a time before the invention of photography. To learn how people dressed, Eselin-Schaefer first immersed herself in historical materials. She studied \u02bbahu \u02bbula at the Bishop Museum on Oahu, consulted \u201cRoyal Hawaiian Featherwork: N\u0101 Hulu Ali\u02bbi,\u201d and examined historical paintings by English artist John Webber, who accompanied Captain Cook to Hawaii in 1776. She also sought inspiration from contemporary paintings of ancient Hawaii by Native Hawaiians Herb K\u0101ne and Brook Kap\u016bkuniahi Parker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u02bbAhu \u02bbula advisor Rick San Nicolas on set with Eselin-Schaefer. (Photo courtesy of Caroline Eselin-Schaefer)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
She also worked in tandem with Hawaiian artisans and cultural advisors. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful for their patience, for their knowledge, for their generosity, for them just being with us and believing in us and trusting us.\u201d An afternoon was spent at Dalani Tanahy\u2019s home on Oahu, learning how to make kapa, a bark-cloth worn in ancient Hawaii. She flew to Hawaii Island, attended the Merrie Monarch Festival, and met with Rick San Nicolas, who is an expert in the ancient Hawaiian art of featherwork. Advisors Huihui Kanahele-Mossman and Kauila Barber spent hours with Eselin-Schaefer on video chat, helping her determine not just the aesthetics, but also how garments were worn and when.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a new process for me as a designer, building a world that had never been built before,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer, who studied film and English at the University of Southern Mississippi. About five years ago, she worked on Barry Jenkins\u2019 \u201cThe Underground Railroad\u201d for Amazon Prime Video, which was similar in scale, however, she said the research was different given the abundance of mid-19th century North America images versus late 18th century Hawaii ones.<\/p>\n
Building the costumes<\/b><\/p>\n
Everything in the show had to be created from scratch. In a North Hollywood building, a 30-person team of stitchers, pattern makers, fabric sourcers, production assistants and others worked for months. Each room was dedicated to a different component of the costume design: creating \u02bbahu \u02bbula and mahiole (feathered helmets), crafting jewelry and adornments, testing out fabrics, dyeing kapa, and aging clothes. Throughout each day, Eselin-Schaefer went from room to room, helping her team make sure the clothes looked authentic and also moved naturally. They eventually created at least 160 \u02bbahu \u02bbula, which were worn by Hawaiian royalty, with size an indicator of rank.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eselin-Schaefer makes sure everything looks right on actor Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, who plays \u02bbOpunui. He wears a mahiole and \u02bbahu \u02bbula. (Photo by Jason Eric Laciste)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Traditional \u02bbahu \u02bbula \u2014 painstakingly made over many years by gathering small bundles of feathers from Hawaiian honeycreepers and tying them in overlapping rows on an olon\u0101 netting \u2014 were impossible to recreate at scale. Instead, the feathers were sewn onto a premade netting from India, a close match to the original.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sourced from all over the world to put together the right components to make the cape as authentic as possible,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer. \u201cThings that were just the closest in look that would have the same weight (and) that would have the same feel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The feathers came from the Chinese golden pheasant, with the male birds a bright red and gold and the female birds a mottled brown, after receiving guidance from cape advisor Rick San Nicolas, who said these feathers looked the closest to the Hawaiian honeycreepers. Each island was also given its own color palette to help distinguish fighters during large battle scenes. Yellow for Hawaii Island, red for Maui (with some feathers dyed to be a bolder red), and earthy tones for Oahu, using the feathers from jungle fowl, seabirds and roosters for the latter capes.<\/p>\n
Building costumes in the North Hollywood studio was stressful and exhausting, said Eselin-Schaefer, especially since they were far away from their advisors and collaborators. But when Momoa came for his first fitting, it reinvigorated everyone. The famous actor screamed with excitement when he saw \u2018ahu \u2018ula, malo and other ancient Hawaiian garments resting on mannequins and lining the shelves. \u201cHe is so supportive and really loves costume,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was so uplifting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eselin-Schaefer poses with Momoa in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Caroline Eselin-Schaefer)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Seven months in Los Angeles were followed by four months of prep in Hawaii before filming started. After that, her team, which had grown to about 60 people, headed to New Zealand for six months of filming. Long days on muddy, rain-soaked sets bonded her team, making them like a family. \u201cIt\u2019s something that becomes a real, big part of your life,\u201d she said “\u2018Chief of War\u2019 is not just a job. It is a personal journey. It’s a professional journey. There was nothing else in a lot of our lives besides that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kapa, malo, and Ka\u2018ahumanu\u2019s dresses\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Using pounded wauke bark, Native Hawaiians made kapa for men’s malos and women’s p\u0101\u02bb\u016b (skirts). Creating a kapa-like fabric that looked authentic and worked for stunts was one of Eselin-Schaefer\u2019s biggest challenges. After three months of searching, she found a fabric in an art store’s sample bin that mimicked kapa\u2019s movement. Made in Germany, Evelon<\/a> is pressed, moisture-wicking, and can be ordered in bulk.<\/p>\n Kaina Makua’s Kamehameha wearing “the most beautiful malo” with three coils on each side, according to Eselin-Schaefer. (Photo courtesy of Apple TV)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Her team created 400 rubber stamps based on designs from \u201cArts and Crafts of Hawaii\u201d by Sir Peter H. Buck, which were used to hand stamp most of the kapa. For the series, the kapa for commoners was stamped with motifs specific to their respective islands, while Ka\u2018iana and his family members wore kapa stamped with triangles and a shark motif to visually show their connection.<\/p>\n While most kapa pieces were hand stamped, a few were silkscreened for principal charters, like Kahekili, with larger motifs and patterns based on artifacts at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the British Museum in London.\u00a0<\/p>\n The design of the malo \u2014 whether to include the front, back, both, or no flaps \u2014 varied depending on the actor and the needs of each scene. \u201cSome warriors wouldn\u2019t have fought with flaps on, because that was the thing you could grab,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer, \u201cbut we had to make those concessions for a modern world of shooting a show.\u201d Ultimately, some actors wore a malo with flaps and some went without the back flap, which is why some viewers gave the show the nickname \u2018Cheeks of War.\u2019 \u201cIt came down to personal preference,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer. \u201cWe wanted everyone to feel comfortable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cKaina Makua, who portrays Kamehameha, he loves malo, and he was amazing. He ties the most beautiful malo,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer, who described how he included three coils on each side. \u201cWe even made a video of him tying it so we could learn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jason Momoa’s Ka\u02bbaina wears pants in Episode 5 after he returns from traveling abroad. (Photo courtesy of Apple TV)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Choices about malo versus pants also became a storytelling tool for Momoa\u2019s character, Ka\u02bbiana, whose clothing changes as he travels abroad. \u201cEvery day, I would go to Jason (Momoa) and we would talk about if he was going to continue wearing pants,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer. Spoiler: He starts wearing pants in Episode 3 while in Alaska and continues to after returing to Hawaii \u2014 until Episode 5 when he is competing against Kamehameha in a h\u014dlua sled race.<\/p>\n For women\u2019s clothing, Eselin-Schaefer read chants and looked at early paintings from the late 1700s to design empire-style garments, raising the traditional silhouette. \u201cThey had their own society. Women had exposed breasts, but for our show, we had to simply raise the silhouette,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer, who spoke extensively with her advisors for guidance. \u201cWe kind of looked at it as distracting if you had exposed breasts on our show, then the women would be sexualized.\u201d Since there was no metal in pre-contact Hawaii, belts, or other ways to fasten clothes, Eselin-Schaefer made clothes that could be pleated, tied, folded, or wrapped on the body. One way to keep a dress secure is to take another piece of decorated kapa and tie it around the breasts, which creates the \u201cempire\u201d shape.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Episode 7, Ka\u2019ahumanu wears a bell-shaped dress with a pleated \u201cflower\u201d at the back. (Photo courtesy of Apple TV)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Over the course of Season 1, Ka\u2019ahumanu\u2019s wardrobe evolves as she grows into a powerful queen. There is only one portrait<\/a> of Ka\u02bbahumanu that was made during her lifetime \u2014 by Louis Choris, the artist on board the Russian ship, Rurik, which visited the Hawaiian Islands in 1816, according to cultural advisor Marques Hanalei Marzan. Eselin-Schaefer studied this image, along with written descriptions of her dress, but she had to fill in gaps where there was no recorded history. \u201cI think we got the essence of her.\u201d Early in the series, Ka\u2019ahumanu wears a yellow one-shoulder dress<\/a>, a yellow lei hulu (feathered lei) on her head, and a dainty shell necklace while still on Maui, but by Episode 7, after her marriage to Kamehameha and her move to Hawaii Island, her neck is adorned with a small lei niho palaoa (whale tooth necklace with human hair), which were only worn by royalty, and she is wearing a bell-shaped dress with a pleated \u201cflower\u201d at the back, a technique taught to Eselin-Schaefer by her advisor Huihui Kanahele-Mossman. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like couture; they were very fashionable,\u201d said Eselin-Schaefer of the Hawaiian royal women\u2019s pleats. Part of Ka\u02bbahumanu\u2019s storyline is that she never has children, so Eselin-Schaefer wanted this large shape to be on the back of the dress to ensure she doesn\u2019t look pregnant. \u201cWe put her abundance to the back,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more kapa you have, the higher status you are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The journey continues<\/b><\/p>\n After production wrapped, every \u2018ahu \u2018ula, mahiole, and piece of kapa was carefully put in storage. Eselin-Schaefer is now awaiting word on whether there will be a second season, but her research hasn\u2019t stopped. The day before our interview, she had ordered a book on Hawaiian textiles off of eBay. \u201cYou don\u2019t stop looking. You don\u2019t stop researching,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t stop thinking about Hawaii.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Michelle Broder Van Dyke<\/a> covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source spectrumlocalnews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cChief of War\u201d transports viewers to Hawaii in the late 1700s through the details \u2014 Jason Momoa\u2019s Ka\u02bbiana hurls insults in Hawaiian on a blackened lava field before an epic battle while wearing a yellow \u02bbahu \u02bbula (feathered cape) and a hand-stamped kapa malo (loincloth). Behind the scenes, costume designer Caroline Eselin-Schaefer took on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2177346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[22694,22811,21741,22080,419190,21737],"class_list":["post-2177345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-app-arts-entertainment","tag-app-top-stories","tag-entertainment","tag-hawaii","tag-michelle-broder-van-dyke","tag-top-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Chief-of-War-costume-designer-on-creating-the-shows-clothes.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177345"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2177347,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177345\/revisions\/2177347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2177346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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