By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
The golden one, designer Blayne Walsh, with his manager Nadia Yun at Skyline.

The Blayne Walsh “Girlicious” weekend continued at Skyline at Twist at Hanohano Saturday night, with the “Project Runway” alum presenting his own Richard Blayne collection, fresh from its debut in his current hometown of Seattle on Dec. 1.

Those who read this blog already know that I was a big fan of Leanne Marshall’s, who ultimately won the competition, but I feel we’re so lucky to have had the second opportunity to see the collection Blayne might have presented at New York Fashion Week if he had made the top five, which he narrowly missed. It’s one his TV fans would have loved to see on the small tube, and here, we were seeing it live!

A Richard Blayne mini dress.

Having met him and seen first hand what he’s all about, I’m now a fan of Richard Blayne and definitely saw some pieces in the collection I’d like to wear. It’s also great that he designs for both men and women, because, as he said at Pearl on Friday night, “Men need better clothes.”

Of course, the show started stylishly late at 11:30 p.m., so I had ample time to take photos of fashion enthusiasts in the crowd while enjoying some of the restaurant’s fabulous martinis or a chair massage courtesy of CMC Medi-spa in Aiea.

It was fun seeing some of the models as I’ve never seen them, like it was the first time I saw Raena Cassidy so punked out. Not to mention the hosts with the mosts, Flash and Matty Boy, taking their turn on the runway! (more…)

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Blayne Walsh studies Andy South’s design on the bar runway at the Candy Bar Friday night at Pearl.

Part 1 of a Blayne Walsh weekend began at Candy Bar at Pearl Ultralounge on Friday night, with the designer, a Season Five “Project Runway” contestant in the hot seat as a judge this time.

The task was to pick a winner out of local designers who presented one garment each. It was a really tough job, but in the end, the winner was Andy South, who appears to be developing a global aesthetic, with shades of Japanese designers meeting the Brits. It’s interesting to watch the designers develop, because I see a lot of them at the college level, and I can count on one hand the number that have impressed me over my years of covering fashion.

Winner Andy South with his model and designer judge Blayne Walsh.

People I work with always tell me I shouldn’t be so harsh, the excuse being, “They’re just kids, they’re learning!” Well, that’s always Hawaii’s excuse, and you know what? I’ve never bought into that attitude because it reinforces a culture of aspiring to be just “good enough.” I see what “kids” coming out of New York design schools produce, and it is top-notch in every aspect, nearly on par with the best designers in the world. Granted, they come from across the country, resulting in a confluence of talent and not all of them will make it, yet they all represent competition that is growing exponentially with the growth of China, India and other countries with design talent of their own.

“Good enough” is not going to cut it in the coming decades, so competitions like this are great, giving designers an opportunity to show to a large audience that might not otherwise get to see their work, and getting an outside opinion and critique, and I think Blayne did a fantastic job. There is a lot of pressure in delivering a solo opinion, and he did it with grace, telling each of his top 5 finalists what he liked about their work — in other words, not like “Project Runway” at all!

Those who didn’t win and didn’t make the top 5 should also not feel bad at all. The one thing you have to remember about these contests is that part of it is for show, and I could see there were several great garments that were well-designed and well-constructed, but can be overlooked in that loud, clubby environment, where there can’t be a rigid formal critique and no one wants to hear that anyway. In the heat of the moment, there needs to a combination of great design with some edginess and flamboyance.

Blayne with his manager Nadia Yun. His shirt says “Tom Ford for President.” He was also wearing a white hoodie jacket that said “Mary Kate,” because “I love her,” he said of the dark-sided Olsen.

Blayne was very cool throughout and ended by telling everyone in the audience to go out and support local designers. (more…)

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Custo Barcelona store director with Mario Nanguse, both in Custo.

Custo Barcelona celebrated its opening at Ala Moana Center with a shopping event last night. I guess this was really good news for guys because when I stopped by, there was a whole bunch of them, one of the few times the men outnumber the women, but that reflects Custo’s casual-chic appeal. The clothes are comfy and casual, but the mix of fabric, texture and color make them look like you took time to dress.

At least three of the shoppers said the same thing to me, that they like the clothes because you can just throw them on and go just about anywhere, except, maybe a funeral.

Darieus Legg, right, and Damien Boone, who wears one of Custo Barcelona’s men’s shirts.

Freida Hulse shows a Custo Barcelona long-sleeve hoodie.

I’ve been shopping Custo ever since I met designer Custo Dalmau eight years ago, but you know how over time you build up immunity to that which you see all the time? I haven’t purchased a Custo piece in a long time.

But walking into the store is like falling in love all over again because other retailers have been holding out on us. Most boutiques only offered the long-sleeve T-shirts and tanks, but the new boutique features a wide range of men’s and women’s wear, including skirts, dresses, jackets and trench coats. There were so many adorable pieces but when the store started filling with women I just had to leave and commit to coming back later rather than wait in line to try anything on.

Pretty dresses, all in a row.

Shoppers browse tables and racks for Custo Barcelona’s signature bold print designs.

Sale prices are currently at $35 and $45 on selected tops, and even at regular prices, dresses range from about $100 to $200, which I think is great for quality, statement pieces that few others will have.

There were several girls with armloads of clothes, and people kept saying how you had to try pieces on because they look much better on the body than on the rack. I guess some people have bad imaginations because for the first time, I heard many squeals of delight coming out of the dressing rooms when women saw how good they looked in the designs, as if it were a surprise!

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Georg Jensen general manager May Lew, left, with model Marisa Gey, welcomed musicians J.P. Lam and Adam Bastien. Marisa is wearing a $2,000 Georg Jensen sterling silver collar with crystal pendant, $485.

The Georg Jensen boutique at Halekulani celebrated the holiday season with a small gathering Thursday night, that included modeling of some of the store’s gorgeous sculptural sterling silver and diamond jewelry.

Michele Henry zeroed in on this Georg Jensen necklace after seeing it on someone else.

Tea at 1024’s Michele Henry was there, and I thought she was one of the models because she was dressed in black and wearing one of the boutique’s sterling and diamond collars. But no, she was just trying the piece on. I don’t know if she was going to throw any holiday hints her boyfriend’s way, but Thomas, consider yourself forewarned.

Ginny Tiu with her mother, Pat Tiu.

I just saw Ginny Tiu playing piano at Twist at Hanohano earlier this week, and here she was again, wearing a Georg Jensen necklace she picked up at auction during a benefit event. She’s gearing up for a hectic schedule of holiday performances and captured the spirit of Christmas in a bright, cheery red.

Stylist Blaine Ashley will be hosting her own holiday party on Dec. 12.

Also attending was stylist Blaine Ashley, fresh from the launch of her shopping Web site www.shopblaineashley.com. She was wearing one of the designs, by Poland’s Nanushka, from her online boutique, though that particular dress won’t be online until Dec. 11. She’ll be hosting a holiday party and fashion show at Pearl Ultralounge beginning 9 p.m. on Dec. 12.

Dillon Chang with Nana Harano in a bebe dress. If you haven’t noticed all the peek-a-boo cutouts and straps lately, it looks as if the back is the new erogenous zone.

By Nadine Kam

PhotoluluTV video

Been thinking over the past couple of days about the Black Friday tragedy of a temp employees’ death at a Long Island Wal-Mart, as well as the mob scene at our own Honolulu Wal-Mart as captured in a YouTube video from www.photolulu.com

It was sad all around. Bad behavior on the part of those who were there, and equally bad behavior on the part of video commentators rich enough to smugly avoid such scenes while shaking their heads and passing judgment on people, some of whom, wanting to have a good Christmas, have little choice but to slavishly show up at times designated by retailers who are being cruel when they set such tight buying windows, knowing the frenzy that will ensue when there’s demand for certain goods.

It was depressing to me because, given the shape of the economy, I thought this might be a saner holiday season, with people finally waking up from their shopping feeding frenzy and cutting back in response to the new economic reality.

For many of my friends and me, this has meant curtailing the annual gift exchange and new pacts to get together for brunches and dinners to simply enjoy one another’s company, starting with a recent birthday three-fer. Where once we might have headed for the most expensive new restaurant in town, accompanied by massive gift exchange, this time we made a trip to Cholo’s in Haleiwa, followed by dessert at Higher Ground in Wahiawa — with the birthday girls, me included, paying their own way — ending at one’s home for friendly rounds of “Guitar Hero” and a whole batch of Wii games during which we beat each other to a pulp and were dying laughing while boxing.

I have to admit that, writing about fashion, shopping and the latest trends probably doesn’t help the situation. But, in doing my job, I assume the understanding that we’re all adults who can figure out many of these things are nice to have IF we have the money. That’s a bif IF, and it’s sad that so many have forgotten the last part of the equation and now feel entitled to all the things they think everyone else has.

Maybe they’d be surprised to find others actually live with less than they appear because of trade-offs.
I like to own clothes, so while I might like to own an iPod, an iPhone, and my own Wii system, “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band,” I have written them off as luxuries I can’t afford to have. I’d probably be a better musician if I practiced on my real drum kit anyway.

I don’t even have a good TV. I lived with sound flitting in and out for about a year, and when a friend’s brother was replacing his 20-year-old, 19-inch TV, I got it. It feels like the Stone Ages, but so what? I would hate feeling my life revolved around TV.

Do I miss having these things I don’t have? Not at all. It’s OK with me because I pretty much grew up with Great Depression values passed on by grandparents to my parents and down to me. It wasn’t until I got to college that I met up with a new bunch of people whose life’s mantra was, “The person who dies with the most toys wins.” I see signs of that kind of thinking everywhere, from Wall Street on down, and we’re experiencing the fallout of greed and me-thinking.

In the local Wal-Mart video, the crowd is clamoring for portable DVD players. It’s sad to see what people had to go through to get them, but it’s sadder to think about the values they’re passing onto their children. While they could use the current economic downturn to teach them about the real meaning of Christmas, and that living with less isn’t the end of the world, instead they’re showing them that getting a DVD player, cheap, is worth the cost of human dignity.