Born in the Santa Cruz loft of competitive surfer Talya Dodson in 1999, Aikane's focus has always been bringing high quality, fun-functional riding apparel to girls who want something different. "The goal was to give girls with less fluff more options." From day one, Aikane has celebrated unique designs, a good fit, extra cargo pockets, lip balm holsters, rashguards designed by pro surfers, hoodies that fit correctly, and passport pockets. "Aikane makes clothes that come out of a backpack with a little personality, looking sharp, and ready to wear" says Dodson.

Since adolescence, founder Talya Dodson struggled to find mainstream clothes that allowed her to express her personally. So in the summer of 1999, she made her way to the Cabrillo Sewing Center in Santa Cruz, bought a sewing machine on credit, read the manual, and went for it. She'd usually buy clothes in the guys departments of surf shops or western stores, cut them up until she liked what she saw, then wrestle with the sewing machine until her Frankenstein was ready to wear. "I can remember my friends would grab me for a surf or something and they'd be like, "what are you wearing?" "Yeah, I embarrassed them a few times for sure, but they believed in my vision. They made fun of me a lot, but believed in me." While sporting her new creations around Santa Cruz, people constantly asked her where she got them. "I would chuckle at first because the sewing was horrible, then I'd be like uhhhhh... I made it". Apparently she did something right because her fellow surfers loved what they saw and wanted a few pieces of their own. Whammmo > > > Aikane.