HIHO: Easy To Wear Island Clothing Designed In Tortola
Over the last 10 years the HIHO clothing brand has quietly grown beyond the BVI. From the humble roots of a famous windsurfing race, it’s now a resort and specialty store staple. WelcomeBVI magazine sat down with HIHO owner Andy Morrell to get the info on his brand.
How did the HIHO brand get its start?
It all started with a T-shirt…. There was a famous windsurfing race called the Hook-In-Hold-On. It was founded in 1979 in St Thomas, and it was a week-long island-to-island windsurfing race through the VI. It combined great racing and nightly parties. I raced in the event, placing 1st in 1986 when I was 22. There was a short hiatus after which I bought the event, shortened the name to HIHO and re-started it in the BVI in 1993. We designed a cool T-shirt with a sun logo. We started selling these T-shirts in a few stores. It slowly grew from there.
Describe HIHO clothing. Would you say HIHO represents a type of clothing or particular style of fashion? What is the future for that style?
Well, we make casual clothing for men & women. Easy to wear dresses, tops & bottoms, men’s shirts & swim, and we make a very good sun protection collection, a terry collection and a lot of sweaters. We really focus on versatile pieces that you can wear on vacation or at home. And we are fastidious about the materials we use. We source very good linen, pima cotton and super-comfortable rayon. From the beginning we decided a couple things- good material and easy to wear clothing- and we have stuck to these principles. I think the future is all about casual & comfortable clothing.
Did you ever think you would own a clothing brand?
We didn’t set out to be in this business. It kind of happened slowly. We had a lot of encouragement from one of the HIHO race sponsors, a company called Neil Pryde that was based in Hong Kong. They made us rash guards and beach bags. And they introduced us to a factory in China that started making our first clothes. They really encouraged us to look at the HIHO race as a brand.
What do you like best about running a brand?
Hands down it’s the blend of creativity & design and business. It’s very rewarding to design a collection, then take it to market, and see it sell well.
How did the brand evolve?
We started in Tortola. We had kind of a surf shop in 2000 and were making T-shirts, rash guards and bags. But we pivoted away from surfing and decided to be a different brand. At the same time, we were selling our small collection to a few other stores in the Virgin Islands and down island. It grew slowly, and I really mean slowly. But we liked the business and saw the potential for it to grow. We started selling to a few stores in the USA. Mostly people who had seen the brand here and asked if they could sell our product in their stores in the US. And by then we are designing other items, like dresses and pants. We quit running the HIHO race in 2021 and that was the catalyst to put more effort into the brand. We started attending trade shows in Florida and New York, we set up a US warehouse and hired sales reps. Now we make four collections per year and sell to about 200 stores in the Caribbean and the USA. The business is still based here though.
Why is the BVI and the Caribbean important to the HIHO brand?
It’s where we are from. We grew up in the BVI spending 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 our easy-going lifestyle.
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. We also sell the brand in the USA.
That’s enough about the brand…. Let’s ask you a couple other questions – What’s your favourite place in the BVI?
The North Shore of Tortola where I grew up. We now live in Anderson with a great view over Brewer’s Bay and over to Jost Van Dyke. There is a nice garden around our house and fruit trees. Aside from hanging out at home I’d say Sandy Spit and Virgin Gorda’s North Sound for sailing.
When you want a real break where do you go?
My kind of vacation is to go to a city. Lots of restaurants & museums. Work takes us often to New York, which is always a pleasure!
What are three things you love?
Sailing (boats or foiling); cooking; and gardening. I love growing what I can eat, and we are blessed here with good soil, water and sun. But I want to add that I was never registered as a farmer!
