Lifetime
That’s Andy in the center, and Ivy on the right.

Don’t forget to tune into “Project Runway” tonight on Lifetime to see Hawaii designers Andy South and Ivy Higa compete.

Here’s the link to today’s feature story: http://www.hsblinks.com/2km

Then vote on the series Web site to “like” the designers: http://www.hsblinks.com/2kn

It was weird to not be able to contact them via their cell phones, email, Twitter or Facebook pages in the media silence that accompanies such shows, where the outcome must be kept under wraps. When I did talk to them, it was with Lifetime’s publicist on the phone line as chaperone to guard against wayward comments.

Both are certainly deserving and let’s hope they go far, if not all the way to NYFW!

Town & Country photos
A model wears a dress from Ida Teite’s Tiare Teite Tahiti line during a fashion show at Kahala Mall Saturday.

Kahala Mall’s Center Court was the stage for a July 24 T&C Surf fashion show featuring Tiare Teiti Tahiti.

Each of Tiare Teiti’s garments are individually handcut from a single Tahitian pareo which are hand-screened and hand-painted, in rayon, cotton voile and silk, reflecting creator Ida Teite’s Tahitian heritage. Born in Tahiti, she’s accustomed to wearing the colorful pareo as her primary article of clothing, whether as a dress, skirt or wrap. Over time, and living in Hawaii since the age of 9, she noticed her bright-colored garments helped her stand out from the crowd.

After a while, confronted daily by the question, “Where did you get your dress?” she decided to launch her own collection two years ago, with exclusive prints by the Tahitian artist Mico.

Her  line is carried exclusively at T&C Surf Designs, Kahala Mall, and dress prices are about $170.

Also shown were swimsuits from Honey Girl’s Louisa Hoover.

Ida Teiti, creator of the Tiare Teiti Tahiti line, introduces her collection.

Nadine Kam photos
The American Heart Association’s Black Tie & Blue Jeans fundraiser, “Heart Rock,” gave party-goers a taste of Vegas, even though only play money was involved.

It felt like there were five parties going on at once during last night’s “Black Tie & Blue Jeans” event , “Heart Rock,” at Waialae Country Club, the 13th annual fundraiser for the American Heart Association.

It was nice in a way that guests could choose the venue that made them most comfortable, whether kicking back for dinner in the Waialae Room, enjoying the beachfront views from tables set up outside, hanging out in the casino tent or playing E.K. Fernandez games.

The event seems to grow bigger and better every year, with more than 160 items, trips, hotel stays, meals, etc., up for bid at a silent auction, including handbags from Gucci and Prada, and a handbag raffle from Chanel, and “Balloon Surprise” with each $20 donation balloon containing a prize, with one grand prize winner receiving a Vacations Hawaii trip and five-night stay in Las Vegas.

The food was ono too. When I looked at the buffet, it looked like your typical, oversteamed fare, but everything was wonderful, from perfectly ripe, sweet, juicy strawberries to lamb curry. Wow! Better than most cook-to-order restaurants!

There were so many ways to win prizes during the event, or at least feel like a winner if you were at the craps, roulette or black jack tables—even if the stacks of chips didn’t add up to anything tangible at the end of the evening. When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll, whether it’s real money or play money, right? The hoots that accompanied a win seemed to be about the same as in Vegas!

It was hard to decide what to do first, and by the time I finished photographing and videotaping, all the craps tables were filled, so I didn’t get a chance to put some of my theories into practice. I kept looking for someone with the least amount of chips, about to go bust soon, but everyone had a LOT of chips. There were definitely some golden arms in the house!

Wonder what next year’s encore will be?

Elvis greeted guests at the door. Dressed to code in black tie and blue jeans mode were the event’s chairman Billy Pieper, right, and co-chairman Kamani Kuala’au, left, with Kristen Ribilla, director of special events for BTBJ.

One of the popular silent auction items was this Krups C75 Heineken Beertender home-dispensing unit. I believe it went for more than its $100 value.

This set of Rockabella jewelry sold for $80 at the silent auction.

Clockwise from left are Jamie Saiki, Julie Yee, Liane Ono and Darcy Ishiara.

Dressed in Vegas mode were Jeff Davis and Lisa Marciel.

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Nadine Kam photos
Sassy Lassy’s Ipo Bunnell shows one of her bow-shaped fanny packs, while Shelly a k a Miss Catwings of Catwings Couture, wears another (“made for this kind of event,” she said. Shelly makes the cutest hats (below) and hair ornaments!

Fresh Cafe played host to more than a dozen designers, artists, musicians and vintage vendors during “Art & Flea” July 22.

The early evening was devoted to shopping before the floor was cleared away to make room for the music crowd. Of course I was there early to scoop up the best deals before they disappeared! I’d been admiring Miss Catwings accessories on Facebook for a while and was happy to finally meet Miss Shelly IRL. She showed some of her new pillbox hats, and I picked up the green one above, replacing the popsicle pin with one of her skull pins.

I have a history of buying hats and never wearing them because I don’t like attracting attention—the local girl syndrome—but I ended up wearing her hat the very next day. It helped that I was going to the Japan-based Q-Pot’s opening and the company appears to be open to things kawaii and/or eccentric.

I also picked up one of her mesh bows, and that seemed to be a theme for me. Shelly was selling alongside Sassy Lassy Ipo Bunnell, who was offering colorful bow-shaped fanny packs! I was drawn to the red one in her photo above, but went with purple that night. At first I thought they tied in the back, but Ipo custom fits them on the spot, so the belts end up finished with three snap buttons so wearers can make it looser or tighter as an outfit demands. You can also find them at Bonzer Front at Cafe Haleiwa.

It was funny that just a few days before I was discussing the wrongness of fanny packs with a male co-worker who also longs to wear drawstring pajama pants to the office for comfort reasons. I told him those pants look good if you’re young and skinny, but for a middle-aged guy like him, it just allows a growing paunch to expand. After failing to deter him from his path, I told him to go away rather than listen to all his justifications. Now, I’m warming to the fanny pack if it can be this cute!

Kisa Kosmos’ Olga Kozlova, left, and Lee-Ann Kong are happy with their naughty reputation.

As soon as I got there I spotted Lee-Ann Kong and Olga Kozlova of Kisa Kosmos, who had set up outside and appear to be on a roll after winning the legal battle for their company name. It’s given them more incentive to forge ahead, and since Olga recently became a mommy, they’ve introduced childrens’ wear to their line, though of course much tamer than their darker, metal and corsetry pieces! Even so, nice as they are, they revel in being the “bad girls” of Hawaii designers. While much of Hawaii-rooted fashion evokes flowers, nature, joy and sunshine, they’re proud that their apparel has made its way into Hustler stores.

There was a lot of cute things available, so it’s pretty dangerous to shop there. It was great to see Megan Campbell’s North Shore vintage boutique Bonzer Front represented because it’s not everyday townies can get up there. I especially liked the handmade leather belts made by one of Campbell’s friends.

The shopping aspect of the event continued to 9, when the musicians took over. Event creators Aly Ishikuni, Tiffany Tanaka and Nicole Franco continue to look for more vendors, musicians and sponsors for the event. If you’re interested in participating in future events, email artandflea@gmail.com or call 222-4118 or 341-4455.

Ruth Shiroma Foster started making clutches and purses as a hobby, but they may be taking over her life. The day after the event, she received the good news that Muumuu Heaven will start carrying them.

Kari Fox, left, and Justin Zaun help Melissa Rivera, who was showing designs and T-shirts from her Unleash Studio.

Manny Pangilinan left New York to surf and skate and he was offering a high-performance cruiser board he designed, as well as these colorful shades. That’s his artwork as well.

Reva Canali, left, with Aly Ishikuni of Mechakawa Vintage, who created Art & Flea with Fresh Café’s Tiffany Tanaka and Nicole Franco of miSH maSH.

It was great to see a whole room taken over by vendors.

La Pistil’s Ashley Ishii and Aron Luangphinith were also among the many who set up shop.

These days, events are well-documented by videographers.

Nadine Kam photos
Q-Pot designer Tadaaki Wakamatsu poses with fans in front of the newly open boutique at Ala Moana Center.

Q-Pot couldn’t open soon enough for a crowd of people who had read my story in Thursday’s Star-Bulletin, and, having neglected to notice the first line that said “set to open tomorrow,” rushed down right away to pick up the sweet confections created by designer Tadaaki Wakamatsu in the shapes of some of his favorite foods and desserts.

I was told about the early arrivals because they made quite a stir while employees were going through training runs Thursday. A few who pounded with the most urgency were actually let in that afternoon because they were so eager and insistent on getting their hands on Q-Pot’s ice cream-, macaron-, lemon slice- and strawberry-shaped jewelry.

The boutique looks like no other in Honolulu, set up like a sweet shop, with jewelry displayed in what looks like refrigerator counters. The storefront is as bright and colorful as an ice cream parlor or patisserie; in the back is a chocolate room that features Q-Pot’s precious metals and stone Caviar line, as well as Q-Pot Baby clothing.

With so much news about Hawaii’s depressed economy, the turnout was amazing. Or, maybe people just need a dose of kawaii-style color and fun to lift their spirits, which was Mr. Wakamatsu’s initial aim back in 2000 when the mood entering the new millennium was one more of fear than hope. He said through an interpreter that it makes him happy if people spot each other and share a smile because one of his pieces brought them together.

Shoppers were delighted by jewelry pieces made in the forms of ice cream cones, whipped cream and below, macarons.

Problem was, when confronted with these edible macarons, made to look like a Q-Pot macaron, people questioned whether they were edible. There were also pieces of Q-Pot chocolate cake wooden boxes on the table so it was difficult distinguishing what was edible. These pistachio (greener IRL) macarons were delicious!

Kim Gennaula, left, with Jasmine Tso, shows her Q-Pot ring of a pearl set in “frosting or meringue.”

Fans who follow Mr. Wakamatsu’s adventures, traveled from Japan to present him with flowers.
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Nadine Kam photo
Dermatologist Dr. William Wong works on Lance Rae’s skin.

On July 14, 2010, I tagged along with a friend, Lance Rae, who was trying a new skin-enhancing treatment being offered by Aiea dermatologist Dr. William Wong, called Pellevé.

Lance had previously had the treatment done on the right side of his face and was now doing it on his left. The treatment is not intended for dark spots or acne scarring, but to induce the body to produce new collagen, to plump up some of the skin sagging that comes with aging.

During the treatment, Dr. Wong uses a wand that uses radiowave technology to heat skin below the surface, described as causing the collagen to contract, tighten and result in new collagen production in weeks ahead, leading to an improvement in skin quality and firmness.

As the doctor describes in the video below, testing was done in Rome and Asia, and the treatment was approved by the FDA for non-invasive treatment of mild to moderate facial wrinkles.

Dr. Wong is the exclusive provider of Pellevé in Hawaii, and the cost for the recommended three sessions is about $2,000. For more information, you can reach him at Hawaii Dermatology and Surgery in the Aiea Medical Center, 99-128 Aiea Heights Drive, 487-7938.

Every now and then I watch new product demonstrations, so thought I’d just introduce some quick videos every now and then.

This one is a demo of Stephanie Chan at Sephora Ala Moana, showing the Clarisonic Opal Sonic Infusion System ($245), which joins the Clarisonic family of devices that uses sonic frequency—the same used in the Sonicare toothbrush—for deep-cleansing.

In the Opal’s case, the sonic action infuses serum into the epidermis to help refresh the appearance of the delicate skin around the eyes. It’s meant to be used with the company’s paraben-free anti-aging Sea Serum. Stephanie said that in addition to traditional use in the evening before bedtime or in the morning before going to work, it can be used over makeup after work, for a more refreshed look prior to going out on a date.

I don’t have the Opal, but I do have the Clarisonic Skincare Brush, with attachments for face and body. It works well in face cleansing. I like knowing my pores are free of makeup and environmental goo floating in the air. But where I see the biggest difference is in the skin on my legs.

I had some rough, dry patches from overzealous tanning in my teen years (yes, it all shows up years later). Using the body brush helped smooth it out. It still looks like a red patch, but that’s because I sort of stopped once I saw it really works. Now that I mention it, I’ll probably pick it up again and continue until it all disappears.

It’s sad how we work so hard to achieve perfect skin after self-inflicted damage, considering we are pretty much all born with perfect skin and proper upkeep along the way would give us nothing to complain about. The older I get, the more I realize that skin doesn’t have to age the way it does for most people.

There are only two main rules beyond washing your face every day:
1. Stay out of the sun/wear sunscreen.
2. Exfoliate two to three times a week to allow your serum to do its job.
3. With the exception of makeup application, don’t touch your face.

Nadine Kam photos
Nick Kawakami represents the third-generation of the Kawakami clan running the family business. He’s with his grandmother and company co-founder Edith Kawakami, and aunt Pat Kawakami (Edith’s daughter). Edith is wearing a vintage Kiyomi muumuu made by Iolani more than 20 years ago, from a line created by then-designer Kiyomi Hirose. Edith said she continues to wear one-of-a-kind samples made by Kiyomi.

Iolani Sportswear celebrated the opening of its first retail space Iolani on Kona Street July 8 with an intimate party for family and friends in the parking lot above Side Street Inn, which catered the event. In fact, it’s rare to see that much food at a fashion party, because fashion people don’t eat! (Not while anyone’s looking anyway.)

It’s great that they could create the immersive experience out of a warehouse/factory/office that has been the company’s home since 1963. The entire ambience of the space is one of ohana, starting with daily appearances of Edith Kawakami, who co-founded the company with her late husband Keiji. The company today is run by their son Lloyd and his wife Carla, the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Their son Nick recently joined the company to launch the IO-Sport label oriented toward young men, and son Alex contributed sweat equity toward the shop’s completion.

Edith confessed that the transformation of some of the factory space was bittersweet. “I remember when all this space was covered with rows and rows of sewing machines,” she said.

Seamstresses and fabric cutters still go about their work on site—with windows from the boutique providing that behind-the-scenes glimpse of what goes into the racks of clothes we see in stores—but not in the numbers as the past. I only recently learned that prior to Statehood, fashion was Hawaii’s No. 1 industry due in part to our duty-free status.

With this expansion into the retail realm of the industry, Iolani’s future looks bright.

Iolani COO Carla Kawakami, in lei, with longtime family friend Denise “Cookie” Noyle.

Iolani’s Lloyd Kawakami, left, with MidWeek writer Susan Sunderland and Don Robbs, in a vintage Iolani shirt.

Toward the end of the evening, Lloyd took his place on stage beside sons Alex and Nick, performing as Manoa DNA. They’re really good. If the fashion thing hadn’t worked, they had another career waiting.

Inside Iolani on Kona Street, Andrea Hiura, from left, Iolani marketing director Lauryn Chun and Sarah Noyle were kept busy helping  shoppers and ringing up sales.

Unique to a fashion party, where typically no one eats, there was plenty of food, from downstairs neighbor Side Street Inn. Of course my first inclination was to go for chef Colin Nishida’s famous pan-fried pork chops, below, but it was my first time trying the garlic-spicy kajiki, above, and da buggah was so ono! Also loved the tender kalbi steak.

Someone’s scooping up the hapa ahi poke, made with Dijon mustard and capers, which sat next to a more traditional version.

The party tent was set up in the parking lot of the Iolani headquarters. While some ate …

… others were inside shopping and socializing.

Lifetime
Andy South meets the judges in a still from his audition video.

Fans of “Project Runway” may find themselves having to choose who to root for from the two Hawaii designers who have made it onto Season 8 of the Lifetime TV fashion design competition.

Andy South and Ivy Higa will appear with 14 other finalists in the new season, which starts airing July 29, leading up to New York Fashion Week.

South’s selection follows the impressive fourth-place finish of fellow Honolulu Community College student Jay Sario, in Season 7. The designer, who shortened his name from Southiphong, graduated from HCC in 2007 and has been designing locally ever since. In 2008, visiting “Project Runway” alumnus Blayne Walsh named South the winner of a local fashion design competition.

Higa is a University of Hawaii art graduate who moved to New York to enroll at Parsons. She worked for Donna Karan and Lafayette 148 before launching her own Ivy h. brand in fall 2008. This marks her second attempt at making the “Project Runway” roster of designers. She auditioned for the show in Season 4, which launched Christian Siriano’s career.

Higa shows pieces from her closet in a closet tour video for Lifetime. Below, she shows some of big bags New York commuters favor. She was using the green one during her recent visit to Honolulu, when we caught up over lunch.

Ivy was home in March. Fashion show producer Lynne O’Neill was also in town, so we all got together for lunch and started making plans to present a Hawaii food and fashion event, coinciding with New York Fashion Week, to introduce people there to the contemporary side of Hawaii.

In the big picture, Hawaii is like a speck on the bottom of their Manolos, so no doubt the presence of two Hawaii designers on “Project Runway” will create many a WTF?! moment for those who can’t believe how a few tiny islands can produce so much talent. But I find we grow up with so much of an us-vs.the outside world mentality that people go one of two ways: some retreat into the locals-only mentality that replicates the patriotic fervor of Bush’s post 9/11 administration. Others become more hungry and work harder to see their work validated by outside critics. I think only the latter will advance Hawaii culture.

Otherwise, you will not see two designers more different from one another. Andy started with gowns, but more recently took a darker, Gothic turn. Ivy’s garments are city-oriented, with clean lines and amazing details. Between the two of them, there will be a play of dark vs. light, structure vs. flow, hard vs. soft, extreme vs. subtle. It will be interesting to see the judges’ reactions to their work.

Dilemma: Got the wig. Now I just need a place to wear it

After the “Chic in the City” photo shoot with model Anya Rozova in a pink wig, I went a little wiggy. A friend involved with the show was heading to L.A. and said he’d be doing more wig shopping, so I put in my request for a pale, frosty pink one.

Well, he recently returned with dozens, to a point it was hard to decide which to pick, and at close to $100 a pop, I definitely could not go home with all I wanted. Among those I liked were a lilac bob, an emo assymetrical dark bob with blue streak, hot pink, platinum and Bettie Page/China doll long.

I got the pink one at top, but I’ll just surprise you with the others when you see me on the street with an unlikely new ‘do one day

At least I’ll be ready for the next show like the circus-themed “Chic in the City” event tied into May 28’s “Sex & the City 2” premiere. It was presented by Dream On Consulting as a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Hawaii and event founder Amanda Stevens is already planning her next events.

In addition to watching SATC2, the event’s highlight was the “Cirque du Culture” fashion show featuring the work of Sierra Dew, 1979, Erin Ludolph, Martinique and Doug Jago.

Here are a few photos from Dennis Layne Photography, from the colorful parade:

Sierra Dew showed designs made from her eco-textile prints combining stencils, elements of urban art and nature, above and below.

Willow Chang wears a Sierra Dew creation during the show’s finale.

Hand-painted cityscape on a swimsuit from Suzanna Kuhlemann of 1979. Here’s my story on her work.

Two pieces by designer Erin Ludolph, seen in the background during the finale.

“America’s Next Top Model” finalist Anya Rozova in one of Douglas Jago’s designs.

Kailua-based designer Jodi Salmonson’s Martinique line encompasses classic resort pieces in silk and sustainable bamboo.

Another ensemble by Douglas Jago.

Another ensemble by Sierra Dew, playing with print, texture and color.