My grandmother was a very fashionable woman. When I look at photos of her from before, I’m reminded of a time when things seemed a bit more glamorous and refined. Even as she aged and eventually came to live with us on O’ahu, she still had distinctive taste in clothing. Buying her a “simple top” was a bigger feat than you would think. She was meticulous and wanted things a certain way . . . but as she got older, finding pieces that fit her the right way became harder and harder. She was constantly on the search for a top that wasn’t a “crewneck” t-shirt, but with a neckline that wasn’t so big it would show her heart surgery scar. Small details that were important to her. Details that made her feel good about herself. When I think about my own journey and how I got here, I’m always reminded of those who came before me . . . my grandma, my mom, my sister. The women who shaped me in so many ways. From before I can even remember, I would join my mother in dressing rooms. She’d be trying on clothing, and maybe I was somehow intuitively picking up on all of the frustrations she was experiencing. Sitting on her bedroom floor watching her get dressed, piles of clothing on the floor . . . it’s a memory that is embedded into who I am, and who I’ve become. The collective frustration of women, I guess . . . even from a young age, I understood it. It’s the single thread that connects us all. It connects me to my grandmother, to my mom, even to my sister. My sister was always a taller, longer version of me. Her 5'6" frame always looked better in my clothing than my own 5'2" frame did. But she struggled too. Her wider hips made her proportions difficult, and even though to me she looked amazing, I could always sense her frustration as well. You could say it was my calling from an early age . . . to know the frustrations of women. To see them, feel them, and then to experience them for myself. It’s what binds me to you and this community in a deeper way. It’s the single thread woven throughout our experiences. But it shouldn’t be a frustration . . . what if the single thread that connects all of us could be one of joy, ease and freedom? What if the single thread that connects all of us is a sense of acceptance, a positive relationship with our clothing and our bodies? This is my hope, my dream to one day achieve. To replace the thread of frustration with a sense of relief, of acceptance, of coming home to a body that finally feels good. Intuitively, I knew when my grandma found the perfect shirt (which she would, of course, buy at least two of) or when my mom found the pants that made her feel amazing. That sigh of relief and comfort . . . I felt it then and I understand it now. It’s why I continue to do what I do, in a way that few have tried before. This is what these last couple of months of 2026 are all about for me. Finally accepting and finding the thread. Allowing myself to follow it all the way back to my ancestors, and then bringing it forward into moments with my own daughter. The stories, the struggles, the pain and the healing . . . it’s what binds us all together, because none of us are alone in it. So this Black Friday, I went back into the archives. I brought a few styles back into the present and mixed them with pieces of the moment, and of the future of Allison Izu. Styles that could bring joy not only to my family and friends, but to yours as well. We’ve been working to bring a full assortment of fabrics, styles and colors to make this our best Black Friday event ever. Call it a culmination of all of my learning over the years, not only as a designer and entrepreneur, but as a daughter, granddaughter, sister and friend. Because it’s the communities and relationships we build that make us whole and complete . . . and the most important of these relationships is the one we create with ourselves. I’m excited to share these next few collections with you . . . to honor the single thread that connects all of us. This thread of frustration that can finally lead us to acceptance. -Allison

Have you ever sat back and observed how the Universe truly works in mysterious ways? In the small and minute movements that happen to allow for a bigger moment to happen? That's how I've been feeling about this collection. Before I can go forward, let me go back for a moment. This brand has been in existence for almost 18 years . . . I go back and forth on which year I actually "started" because I was supposed to launch in 2007, but ended up delaying the launch till the following year due to manufacturing mishaps. So, from now on, I'll keep 2008 as my first year in business. That means this year marks our 18th anniversary. And if you remember when we used to have a retail store in Ala Moana, we lovingly named this time of year "Alliversary" and it kinda stuck. So this year is our 18th Alliversary. And who knows where my head was last September because it just came and went. We didn't have a chance to celebrate Alliversary, so when this June rolled around I knew I wanted to work to bring the celebration back. But with fashion — timing is everything! So many pieces and moving parts go into putting a collection together and I wanted this one to be special. I wanted to launch a print. It's been more than a year since we launched a print design and there's a lot that goes into making one. First, I have to draw the print . . . but let me stop you there so I can preface that I am NOT a print designer. I didn't go to school for it or anything. But when it comes to print designing for clothing, I know I have a particular point of view and an understanding of what I want clothes to do for our bodies. I use the same philosophy . . . will this print make me look good (and feel good?) For me, that means a level of understated elegance or effortlessness — basically, "looking good without trying too hard." So when I started thinking about a print for this Alliversary, I wanted it to embody this feeling. I also didn't have a lot of time and needed to create something fast, so I went into my archives and found a print that I still LOVE. A simple and understated "branch" print that we launched many years ago. When I first designed this print, it was inspired by the Japanese sakura tree, in its dormant stage, with no flowers or blooms. To give it new life, I started making small tweaks to the original, changing the size of the print to be a bit larger than the last time. And as I was going through the process, I remembered why I created this print in the first place. The significance of the period right before the sakura blooms — it's still cold, but the season begins to shift to the right environment. The tree's perseverance to withstand the changes in weather, its ability to flourish even in hardships. Remembering this sparked something in me and I knew I had to make this happen for Alliversary. If you've been following along, you know we made a big business decision to move our fulfillment to the mainland U.S. And along with many other changes and delays, our Alliversary collection is slowly but surely coming together. We were able to secure two styles ahead of time so we can already share our new print with you. That means we're starting our anniversary celebration now and it'll continue on into October. This Alliversary Collection is about the perseverance of the branches before the blooms, the small shifts and minute movements that make a bloom possible. I felt it with bringing this collection together and I can see how something like a bare branch can become the clean slate needed for the Universe to create the blooms. This collection, the timing of this warehouse move, and the transition I'm feeling inside of myself for this business is all the necessary and beautiful alignment needed for me to fully realize my true purpose and path in this lifetime . . . So very excited for you to see this collection, to welcome its energy into your life. I hope it'll inspire you to appreciate all of the small shifts and minute movements in your own life that allow your beautiful life to unfold in ways you never expected. -Allison 

We're officially moving our warehouse and fulfillment out of Hawaii, and to be honest, I'm feeling a lot of emotions about it." -Allison, Founder In this video, Allison shares a honest, behind-the-scenes look at the next big step for Allison Izu. Change can be scary, and letting go of the physical process of packing your orders in-house has brought up a lot of fears about losing that close connection to our community. Keep watching to hear Allison redefine what connection means with this change.

I've always considered myself a "small brand" with dreams of being a bigger one and it's a mindset that I struggle with daily. I even told myself not to use the phrase, "small brand" to describe the business anymore (even if it's just a rule I hold only in my head). The other way I tend to describe my business is to call it a "local brand", describing the fact that most of our operations are based in Hawaii (the place I was born and raised). I have a deep sense of pride being able to do this. But one fact is true, it's expensive to grow a business here in Hawaii. And one of the big reasons is shipping costs. It's something none of us can overcome as it's just part of living on a beautiful island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And when I started to focus on growing our customer base to other women throughout the U.S., we quickly saw the percentages of Hawaii-based customers vs mainland customers shift. This came as a surprise to the team and I. And with the shift, a new set of challenges arose and one that we can't ignore anymore is shipping . . . again. We take the biggest hit when everything is done, ready to sell, and we need to get it in our hands from our California factories to Hawaii – I know, it's painful. The second shipping cost is from finding a large enough space to hold the clothing in Hawaii where we can organize, pack, and fulfill all your orders. And then the third comes from the shipping costs a large portion of you have to endured to get your order to your doorstep. Those who pay the most are on the continental U.S. because now we're shipping everything from Hawaii back to the mainland. And many of you have commented on the high cost of shipping - so much so that it became a bigger issue that needed to be addressed. It's been a thought that I've been wrestling with for over a year now. And after talking to numerous fulfillment centers, I've finally found one that I feel like I can trust and who'll take care of fulfilling your orders with as much care and concern as we do. Don't worry - we'll still be on the other side of the line for your emails, direct messages and phone calls. And as we sit in meetings to discuss these changes, I promise to keep you in the loop as much as possible. My team and I have considered all of it, even the fact that our Hawaii customers may now have to pay more in shipping. But don't fear, we're working through a possibility of taking a bit of a "hit" on the shipping from our new mainland facility to Hawaii, and offering a flat rate to our long time Hawaii friends. I know that it's through your support and kindness that we get to do this job everyday! So I ask for your help one more time . . . This week, we're doing a "Clear the Warehouse Sale" – as we attempt to let go of as much inventory as we can. This is to avoid having to pay shipping one more time to get the older inventory back to the mainland to be warehoused. We ask that you help us "lighten our load" by buying what you've had your eye on for a while or getting that second pair of pants you love. This may be the last time you see these sale styles, in these colors. Thank you ahead of time for your support and for being here as I battle challenges of running this business. So many changes and each one is not made lightly. I see it all as a win-win situation . . . with gratitude, Allison