Aaron Martin personalized prints and toys, above, while one of his youngest fans observed all that was going on.
While I was on Maui I missed Aaron Martin’s Angry Woebot signing at Split Obsession, but Bruce Chin sent over some photos and reports that about 250 to 300 art and toy lovers showed up for the event.
There are still a couple dozen of the Angry Woebot/Split Obsession limited-edition T-shirts (men) and tank tops (women) available at the boutique or online at www.splitobsession.com
It seems people were expecting to see Aaron in his Ewok costume, but he said it was too hot. You’ll have to settle for the photo:
If you’re pondering what sweet surprise you’ll come up for Valentine’s Day, consider Frances Pons’ miniature dessert confections. Her company, Sugar Rush by Frances, celebrated its fourth anniversary in December and now offers sugar lovers a choice of 42 dessert items priced at $2.25 to $2.50 per piece.
She recently began offering a stylish 16-piece gift box of assorted miniature desserts priced at $38 to $40 per box, depending on the selection. Some of her latest introductions are:
>> Goldfinger: Pumpkin cheesecake lollipops dipped in a blend of milk and bittersweet chocolate and coated with chopped pecans.
>> Chocolate Gone Bananas: Layers of chocolate fudge cake and banana nut cake filled with chocolate mousse and glazed with ganache.
>> Keoni Appleseed: A blend of sweet and sour green apple mousse.
>> Minkeys: Sassy chocolate fudge cupcakes.
With good help hard to find, it’s been hard for her to keep up with demand, so better rush to the phone to get your order in. Call 949-4943 or visit www.sugarrushhi.com.
This video shows Pons talking about some of her other best sellers:
Nadine Kam photos Cathy Sumimoto, left, and Emma Wo wear creations by Kimono Samba’s Chieko Yamaguchi. Cathy’s dress is made from fabric from a wedding obi. Yamaguchi will be back to show with her students at the Japanese Women’s Society fashion show, “Open Your Tansu.”
After spending a day on Maui, I left early Sunday morning, Jan. 27, to make it over to the Japanese Women’s Society Foundation’s new year Shinnen Enkai celebration at Natsunoya Tea House on Alewa Heights. I felt like I was on “Amazing Race” hoping timing would be good. It wasn’t so good when the company called to pick me up at Four Seasons never showed at 7:20 a.m., then said the pickup time that had been arranged was 9:45 a.m. Well, my flight was to leave at 9, so that wouldn’t do.
Made it over to the airport by taxi, where the lines waiting to get through inspection were as long as those to any big concert or Black Friday sale. Yuck. Honolulu departures are easy by comparison except they really seem to be suspicious of laptop computers. Luckily, once on Oahu I was out and running and in a taxi en route home by 10. I live a couple blocks down the hill from the teahouse, so walking there for the 10:30 a.m. event was fairly easy. I figured it was close from having driven past there before, but what I didn’t get from being in a car is that, true to the Heights name, it was all uphill.
Chieko Yamaguchi showed how her modern interpretations of kimono can be worn with traditional kimono, as worn from left by Yutaka Shiomi, Sadako Miyashiro and Tamae Oshiro.
The event offered a sneak preview of the society’s April 13 fashion show, “Open Your Tansu.” Just as the name implies, it’s an invitation to dig into your closets and chests to discover what kimono and obi have been stored away, just waiting to be reborn as a new garment. Among the models were JWS members and beauty queens Cathy Sumimoto, Emma Wo and Aureana Tseu.
Chieko teaches the art of giving birth to new designs through informal classes in Japan, working under the name Kimono Samba. She doesn’t sell her work, but empowers women to try it on their own, saying it involves mostly cutting, very little sewing, and involves no modern fasteners such as buttons or zippers. A lot of the work is held together by tying pieces together. She’ll be back with her students for the April show.
Nadine Kam videosChieko Yamaguchi demonstrates Kimono Samba style.Traveling with Chieko was Hanako Yuuki, below, who practices the art of kirigami or cutting paper. Her hat is covered with nuno hearts and topped with a bird. The little pieces of fabric art are sewn from kimono remants so that no piece of these beautiful silks goes to waste. Here’s a Yuuki’s kirigami demonstration on video:
Spent a couple of days on Maui working on a story at the lovely Four Seasons Wailea, one of those places conducive to overall well-being. The few times I’m able to make it to Maui, I feel compelled to go there because of those kinds of associations of feeling at peace with the world. Try getting a noontime table at Ferraro’s overlooking the ocean, and you’ll probably end up feeling the same way.
This is my suite. Just kidding! A print by Madge Tennent is juxtaposed with a woven basket by Mika McCann.
The reason for my trip was for a look at the resort’s unprecedented new art collection, curated by Julie Cline, focusing on contemporary work by Hawaii artists. You will hear more about this when I complete my print story, but for now, let’s just say no detail or nook has been overlooked in public and private spaces. Even the rec rooms, with their video games, pool, air hockey and foosball tables, have become “galleries,” linked by the fun ideas of surf and fashion.
One of the pieces on view is designer Sherry Holt’s Wiggle Dress, circa 1970s, and Holt was there to talk about her creation. For those who may remember, Holt worked for Lauhala Sportswear and her work with prints brought her a lot of attention when her garments found their way into Bloomingdale’s, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Macy’s and the national media. In store appearances, Holt recalled often hearing negative comments along the lines of “Go back to Hawaii,” and “No one is going to wear prints,” but she proved her naysayers wrong.
Sherry Holt talks about creating her ruched, draped Wiggle Dress.
She later designed for OP and the Beach Boys, and continues to create a “young American” western-style line called Desert Diva, as well as a line under her own name.
I was just reading a story in the Economist or New Yorker about how, no matter how many hotels are built in New York City, there’s never enough because tourists keep coming in search of art, food, fashion and other aspects of cultural tourism. That should be something local tourism professionals and our visitor bureau should be paying attention to because the days of easy money in tourism are over. The Four Seasons has taken a step in the right direction and with the focus on Hawaii’s vibrant contemporary arts scene, this may be just the move needed to push our living artists into the international arena, considering the caliber and spending power of those who stay at the resort. This will be very interesting to watch.
Detail of the limited edition Angry Woebot design.
Be at Split Obsession early Saturday night, the 26th, if you want to get your hands on one of the limited edition T-shirts or prints Angry Woebot’s Aaron Martin created in collaboration with boutique owners Bruce Chin and Erica Apana. With only 100 T-shirts available, you’d better be there at 5 p.m., although the event goes to 8 p.m. at the Koko Marina Shopping Center store.
Really wish I could be there but I’ll be on Maui, working on some other stories. I made a resolution to commit more energy to the arts this year, and strangely enough, the universe seems to be listening. I’m working on two other pieces now.
Aaron Martin at work, and below, inflatable interpretations.
The Paris designers are now showing men the right way to wear color for fall 2008. Are you ready? I love it! Different and stylish without being overly dandified.
AP photos British designer Paul Smith’s take on menswear for Fall 2008.
Spanish designer Josep Abril came up with color accents.
All is quiet on MLK Day in Honolulu, but over in Brazil, Sao Paulo Fashion Week is going on, and here are some photos. It’s always fun to see what other people around the world are doing. It’s so easy now when you can follow people on all continents through Twitter.com. It was only amusing at first. Now I’m addicted.
AP photos
Erika Ikezili design.
Models for Cavalera paraded on the banks of the Tiete river to call attention to the pollution there.(more…)
Don’t be looking for risque stuff. This is as racy as it gets, as far as I can see, anyway.
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Jewelry on sale at Alliway.
Meanwhile, the January sales continue, such as Neiman Marcus’s Last Call, and Alliway’s 321! sale at Ward Warehouse. At Alliway that means 30 percent off Alliway jewelry, 20 percent off handbags, and 10 percent off everything else (not the staff, of course), from Jan. 19 through the 21st, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Better check if you have the day off. Call 589-1141 if you get lost.
This also marks the last few weeks to visit Lululemon Athletica’s Ward showroom. Come March, the athletic and yogawear specialists will be moving into Ala Moana Center’s new wing encompassing Nordstrom and 30 other new stores.
Lululemon’s last day at Ward, above the First Hawaiian Bank at the corner of Ward and Auahi, is Jan. 27. Then they’ll be back with free yoga classes at 10 a.m. March 3 to 7, and March 9 at Centerstage. Check Honolulu-community@lululemon.com for updates.
China Fashion Week provided some excitement. This is the work of Andy Ho.
Not enough people worried when the Hollywood writers went on strike. Save for late-night TV, so much of regular broadcast TV seems to be reality or garbage, that the overall vibe felt like “no loss.”
Well, it really hurts now that some major awards shows have been cancelled, huh? I say, pay the writers what they want. Writers are paid peanuts considering what others in the biz make. They want pennies while stars make millions of dollars, and a recent analysis of star salaries to box office income has already shown that people like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are paid far more than they’re worth in drawing power. They carry so much celebrity baggage it detracts from any film.
I don’t even go to their movies, and very few other actors would lure me on name alone. (Ones who do are Cillian Murphy, Johnny — how will he surprise us next — Depp, and Cate Blanchett.) I’m more likely to follow directors because they carry the vision of what a film should be. If studios want to know what works, here it is: a confluence of great script, great direction, great acting and — in my opinion — great costumes, which reflects superior art direction, attention to details, and all that entails: lighting, cinematography, etc.
There were gowns at China Fashion Week, like this one from William Tang’s fall/winter 2008-09 collection.
It was so quiet without the Golden Globes sideshow — the gowns, the jewelry, the tuxes, hits, misses and morning-after disses. Although those involved seemed to appreciate the relief from the stress of preparation, the losers seem to be the designers who lost a branding and marketing opportunity, and fashion magazines that now have to fill pages that may have been reserved for those red-carpet looks.
Oh well. Those in need of a fashion fix should be grateful the runway season has begun, and first up this week are Brazil Fashion Week, China Fashion Week, and the Men’s fall-winter 2008-09 collections from Milan. Here’s a peek at the latter from AP:
Layering and tattoo-inspired lapels at Dolce & Gabbana.(more…)
Nadine Kam photos Media filled the front row of the Indashio fashion show at the Honolulu Design Center Saturday. Smart magazine’s Sarah Honda snaps a photo.
Designer Indashio had promised to bring a bit of New York to Hawaii with his “Viva Las Vegas” fashion show, and that he did. The energy and decibel level was definitely higher than any local show thus far. It was HOT!The noise, the crowd, the security detail, the photographer’s gallery was pure New York Fashion Week, and I couldn’t believe how seating in the tiny Cupola Theatre was configured to accommodate the number of people there, while giving everyone a great view of the runway. But anyone who’s lived and worked in New York is probably accustomed used to making the most of small spaces.
Indashio hams it up for the cameras after the show with Vivalicious, left, and Didi.
The spectacle of barely clad “showgirls” reminded me of a typical Heatherette show, and Indashio finished with a dance down the runway carrying our company’s magazine HI Luxury, which sponsored the first major fashion event of the New Year. I think we’re appropriately warmed up.
