By Nadine Kam

Miemiko Atelier

Those who want to put a little more style into their correspondence might want to head to Alliway tomorrow night, the 31st, for Gotta Have It Thursday.

The evening’s special guest will be letterpress print shop designer Cari Nakanishi, of Miemiko Atelier, who will be displaying her boutique cards and journals from 4 to 8 p.m., when you can browse while enjoying desserts and drinks. There will also be discounts on Origami Bijoux jewelry, Stephanie B apparel, Melie Bianco handbags and Blue Q shopper bags. A $25 purchase will get you a free gift bag.
It’s been said for decades that the more technologically advanced a society becomes — to counter a mix of the attendant fear and confusion — the more it turns to things that are handmade and tactile, and that would apply here, as well as to the DIY movement big with both creators and consumers.

Miemiko Atelier can also create custom cards and stationery by hand-feeding specialty papers through a century-old cast-iron printing press.

I’m glad someone is preserving the old-fashioned printer’s skill. Setting individual pieces of type by hand seems so quaint in the blog age, but was once one of the stages in producing newspapers. I tried it out years ago, learning how to set pages of poetry and my favorite song lyrics, and learning to read upside down and backward in the process.

Alliway is in the Ward Warehouse. Call 589-1141.

By Nadine Kam

Video by Jason Genegabus and Nadine KamWent to Dan Weaver’s Fall 2008 Fashion Show Friday night at the Loft where the room was abuzz to see what he’d been working on over the past five months.

For his first full fashion show, it went amazingly well, without a glitch with models or music, as far as I could tell. (I know, behind the scenes there’s probably always thoughts things could have been better.)

He definitely showed he is someone to watch and you can see some of the collection in the video above. My co-conspirator Jason Genegabus did the camera 1 setup and interview with Dan, and I shot secondary video and closeups for our first attempt at a two-camera fashion video. Then he did all the work editing so I could have a weekend off. Yay! Thanks Jason!

I’m usually the last to arrive but I showed up somewhat early that night to save my seat. I felt lucky that I did because a couple came in and, displeased that they were placed in the second row, started switching name tags around so they could be in the front row. Naughty. Maybe for Weaver’s Spring ‘09 show he’ll have some gigantic male bouncers and really make it feel like a N.Y. show.

By Nadine Kam

Christian Siriano’s black plaid taffeta “London Guard” ruffle jacket (foreground) is priced at $480 on Bluefly. The black metallic wool “Dinner at 8″ jacket is $520 at the site.

Yes, another season of “Project Runway” is underway, and though the results have been lackluster thus far, snarky blogs have been declaring Christian Siriano so over.

His exclusive capsule collection for Bluefly might prove them wrong. It’s pretty much what we expect from him and appears to be well-executed. Price points are right up there with Phillip Lim which will deter the casual fan from wearing his stuff, but I’d wear his designs any day. He stands to be the only actual “next great American designer” the show has actually produced.

Watch Christian’s video here.

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Meanwhile, the fierce one is also collaborating on a promotion with Brickfish.com and TRESemmé, asking the question, “How “Fierce” is Your Hair?”

Those 21 and older at the time of entry have until Aug. 25 to enter your fiercest hairstyle by submitting your photo and 100-word-or-less description to Brickfish.com. The winner will receive a two-night, all-expenses paid trip for two to New York City to meet with the TRESemmé “Project Runway” styling team who will give you an equally fierce hairstyle to match a haute new outfit designed for you by Christian.

In addition, 10 winners, selected by TRESemmé, from the top 150 most viral entries will win a year’s supply of lead stylist Jeanie Syfu’s four favorite TRESemmé products.

And one winner who signs up in the campaign highlights section will be randomly selected weekly to win six products from the TRESemmé Thermal Creations collection.

Get to it. From what I’ve seen so far, they have not begun to see how fierce we can be!

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Inside the Loft, Dan Weaver prepares for his fashion show tomorrow night, July 25.

Former Hawaii-ites will be surprised to see how Wo Fat restaurant has changed. It’s become the Loft and will be the site of Dan Weaver’s Fall 2008 fashion show tomorrow night. There’ll be about 10 models and 25 pieces in a collection he designed strictly for his portfolio in hope of one day landing a more visible niche, with reach, at a design house, than he could ever afford to do on his own.

Based on the handful of comments on my print story, some readers didn’t grasp the difference between being a designer and being an entrepreneur, so I hope it’s clearer now.

The address is 115 Hotel St. and doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7 standing and $15 seated, available at dw.bigcartel.com. The $15 ticket will get you some DW swag and other goodies.

A stylish way to wear fleece.

The designer tries to make a styling decision.

A cute wrap you can wear to the movies, airplane or high-impact occasions.

By Nadine Kam

One more contest: Head to Bar 35 July 26 for the “Harajuku Lovers Live” hair and makeup competition. Ulupono salon, W-Salon, and Sanctuary Salon will be in the house with a photographer on site taking pics of all the excitement.

Hawaii Red magazine, at www.hawaiiredmagazine.com, will feature the contest winner in an upcoming issue, promising virtual immortality, second best to instant fame and notoriety.

For those who crave neither, the opportunity to gawk is also a wonderful thing. Starts at 9 p.m.

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Speaking of Harajuku Lovers, check out these cute totes/back-to-school book bags from the line: Juku in Navy, $58; Candy in Green, $95; Bishoujo in Red, $58.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Emma Wo walks the bar at the Pearl dressed in Alexander McQueen during a pageant preview.

I’ve never been a fan of the pageant gown. In the right hands, they can be beautiful, but given the showtime quality of the beauty pageant, it’s no coincidence they often look one step removed from ice skaters’ ensembles. Two recent cases: Miss Universe 2008’s Miss Mexico and Miss Dominican Republic gowns, the latter looking like a cracked disco mirror ball.

It’s about time we see real fashion on the pageant runway, though from their perspective, they probably don’t want to distract audiences with a fashion show. Nevertheless, Emma Wo will be wearing Alexander McQueen when she hits the stage for the Miss Teen USA 2008 pageant taking place on Paradise Island in the Bahamas on Aug. 16.

Kristian Lei, with her husband Gavin Vinta, was one of the performers for the evening.
When she’s not singing, she’s preparing for October’s Women’s World Festival.

She gave well-wishers a glimpse of what she’ll be wearing during her send-off party at Pearl Sunday night. Designers Takeo and Eric Eugene Kamakahai’ai Chandler found the McQueen ready-to-wear gown at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Considering the pageant’s locale, they thought the combination of color, lightness and flow would be perfect. I agree. Bahamas weather is a lot like Hawaii’s and one would need to wear color to stand out amidst similar tropical foliage and pristine ocean. (more…)

By Nadine Kam

I borrowed a few snippets of video and stills from Amy Tomita, who works at Neiman Marcus, to put together a 2-minute video to go with the Travel piece on India in today’s paper. It just gives a little feel of what it’s like to be on the ground there, and I guess what was a little depressing is that their road surfaces are better than ours.Thanks Amy!

By Nadine Kam

This is a detail of a hand-carved, vintage African elephant ivory and sterling silver mermaid brooch, circa 1950’s, created for Ming’s by Hawaii artist Isami Doi. The mermaid is holding a pearl against a sterling seaweed background. Below, a Ming’s peony brooch.

I haven’t gone to the Hawaii All-Collectors Show for a while, mainly because it’s a dangerous place for me to be. I like vintage things a lot because I absorb from them the essence of another time and place.

That makes it seem like this time and place isn’t good enough, but I don’t think that’s the case. I just naturally gravitate to what’s different, which is also what propels me to simultaneously seek out the next new thing, the next trend. It’s like restless hunter-gatherer energy. I don’t understand people who can be still and content.

This time I might have to go to the show because Linda Lee will be there to conduct her free Ming’s jewelry identification and appraisals session. I wrote a story about her a while back, and ever since, a lot of people nationwide have been interested in getting in touch with her. So many people have pieces of Ming’s jewelry that have been passed on to them and they just want to know more about the individual pieces, as well as the company and its founder Wook Moon. Linda will be available during show hours in the display area. Here’s are links to a couple of my stories about Ming’s (sorry I can’t link you, the Wordpress feature is still not working):

http://starbulletin.com/2007/07/19/features/story01.html

http://starbulletin.com/2007/07/19/features/story02.html

Show hours will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 18; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 19. General admission is $4, with $2 entry for children 7 to 11. If you MUST be first in line, you can enter early on Friday for $15 admission. You can download a $1 off coupon at www.ukulele.com/collect.html

Other highlights:

>> Hawaiiana dealer Don Medcalf, of Hawaiian Islands Stamp & Coin, will be giving free informal verbal appraisals of early Hawaiiana from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday and 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday in booths 321 and 322.

Robyn Buntin wares

>> Robyn Buntin of Honolulu reports its storage warehouse is overflowing with decorative objects, books, magazines, knick-knacks, furniture, and other collectibles and will be offering up bargains during the event.

>> Oahu Anime Explorer & United Anime will have members on hand to display some of their favorite cosplay costumes, anime models, posters, and other collectible items in booths 205 and 206.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam videoHere’s the video for the Aloha!Alice story in the paper. It’s great how the Internet allows anyone with a creative streak to connect with a niche market.

Maybe I’ll start a photo shop at Etsy.com. A friend told me that any business started on 8/8/08 can’t fail!

By Nadine Kam

Bravo photos
From left are some Season 5 “Project Runway” contestants, from left, Kenley, Jerry and Wesley.

Season 5 of “Project Runway,” the last with Bravo before it moves to Lifetime, starts up tonight. You can go to www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway to check out the latest crop of designers.

My sister emails from New York that she helped one of the contestants, Kenley, with her application last year and though she didn’t make it at that time, the judges liked her and welcomed her back this year.

Don’t know if she’ll make it though. Right now, all I can look at are their influences, and hers — Coco Chanel, Betsey Johnson and Edith Head — are all across the map. There’s no coherence to the mix.

Other designers had the usual suspect list of influences, veering toward the theatrical: Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano. With these candidates, I picture bombast and a lack of taste and sophistication.

I’m curious to see what Jerry from Montana (influences: Martin Margiela, Rick Owens and Calvin Klein) and Wesley from Massachusetts (influences: Jeanne Lanvin, Marc Jacobs and Cristobal Balenciaga) will do.

It’s been noted on Twitter that no one from Hawaii has made it onto the show. Sorry, I’m not surprised.