By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Fighting Eel injects humor, lightness and a lot of back details into its Spring 2009 Collection.

Fighting Eel introduced its Spring 2009 collection during a casual runway and trunk show Sunday afternoon outside The Butik. They showed a flirty collection of dresses highlighted by a fun banana print created by Rona Bennett, one-half of the designing duo. The print is shown here in two colors.

They didn’t show many separates, but if you go to their Web site, you’ll also see a sassy mini skirt using the banana print. So cute!

Tani Lynn models a more colorful version of the banana print.

Yasmin Dar in Fighting Eel.

One of the bright colors of the season.

The next generation of FE fans get a head start in Baby Eel.

Of course these girls will only get better at their close-up with practice. Pretty soon they’ll be demanding right of approval from designer Lan Chung.

The shoes in the show were from Nine West, but they reminded me of these wide strappy runway styles, worn here with short lengths of nude hose, that I photographed during the Y & Kei Water the Earth Spring 2008 presentation during New York Fashion Week, Sept. 5, 2007. It’s essentially taken a year and a half to reach the mass market. While similar styles have been available at high-end retail, wide straps and lots of high vamp details are really turning up strong this spring.

See more of the show here:

By Nadine Kam

Valerie Joseph is offering the opportunity to win a $50 gift certificate from the Ala Moana Center boutique, just by submitting your confession as a shopaholic, to coincide with the Friday opening of the movie.

How easy is that. Hit the red block above and confess away!

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Party on the lawn at the Bayer Estate, oceanside in Aina Haina.

Nikolai Tsang of Jade by Nikolai celebrated the 13th out of 15 days in the Chinese New Year Saturday with a dinner party and shopping event on the beautiful lawn of the Bayer Estate in Aina Haina.

Longtime clientele had an opportunity to see pieces that may not otherwise be shown here after Nikolai cancelled a trip to Dubai due to new international trade regulations that would have made it impossible to reintroduce her unsold jade pieces back into this country.

She always throws a great party, and this was the first I’ve attended that’s been outdoors. The lawn was dressed in auspicious reds and golds, with red lanterns circling the dinner area.

Adding more sparkle to the event was Kristin Wood, known for eyelash extensions, and now, touches of Thai Silk tied to individual strands of hair for a Mylar-like shine. I had a few strands of blue and dark purple which I thought would somehow work with my dark hair with red stripes from Christmas.

Jewelry designer and host Nikolai Tsang (right), in an Anne Namba creation, greets Susan Todani. Both wear Nikolai’s jewelry.

The event helped to invite happiness and good fortune for the Year of the Ox, which is not generally deemed to be an auspicious one. Check out this Wall Street Journal story. We all need as much help as we can get, and feng shui master and teacher Clarence Lau was there to offer some clothing advice.

He said I had too much water in my Chinese horoscope sign — particular to a person’s birth year and time — which means that I’m quick to learn but also too interested in too many things, so I lack focus. Well, that’s true so I really have the job I’m adapted to, which allows me to parachute into many places with quick deadlines that come up before I have time to lose interest in a subject. His recommendation, for a start, is to wear more reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, purples, colors to counter watery blues. And he told me no blacks and whites, when probably 80 percent of my closet is black. And this was after I had bought a black jade piece from Nikolai.

Guests study pieces of jade, gold and semi-precious stone jewelry. The butterfly is one of Nikolai’s favorite motifs.

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By Nadine Kam

Every tribe has its markers, and those addicted to the garrulous universe of Twitter.com can show their affiliation with T-shirts from Aiea designer Valentino Valdez (@valdezign) and acrylic jewelry from London-based Twitterer @CouchObjects.

This twitterati nameplate, $20, is available through @CouchObject’s Etsy site. Below, prototypes for a nameplate bearing my blog and Twitter name.

I don’t often wear words or logos because they can be bloated with unintended meaning and would make me feel like a walking advertisement, but I’ll make an exception for my own Twitter name fashiontribe. The @ in front allows other tweeps to direct their comments straight at you so you can bypass the thousands of messages that flood the site every minute.

OK, geeky I know, but I think everyone on Twitter is proud to be part of the international geekdom.

If you want to learn more about Twitter, you might want to check out the HI Twestival coming up Feb. 12 at Oceans 808 at Restaurant Row, one of 160 events being held in cities all around the globe that night, allowing the Twitter/social media community to come together to benefit Charity:Water, a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Tickets are $20 for a pupu buffet, two drinks (plus $3 drink specials), a night of music and a chance to win prizes through a charity raffle. A $5 raffle ticket could get you:
>> A two-night stay at Wyland Waikiki
>> One of two 30-minute Ocean Massages from Spa Pure at The Wyland Waikiki
>> One of two two-night stays at any hotel from the Aqua Boutique Collection from Aqua Resorts
>> A 23-piece round tray from Happy Hearts Mochi
>> One complimentary tuition to Hawaii Bartending Academy
>> Admission for four to the Waikiki Aquarium
>> $500 closing cost credit on a loan from Innovative Mortgage Solutions

Plus more to come!

BTW, feel free to:

By Nadine Kam

Touchstone Pictures
Isla Fisher, in magenta, stars as shopaholic Rebecca Bloomfield in “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” opening Feb. 13.

As a reporter I try not to make assumptions about people and situations until talking to parties involved, but sometimes when you see a person’s work, it’s hard to separate the professional from the personal.

That’s what happened when I interviewed Patricia Field in advance of the opening of “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Sizing up her colorful hair, her New York boutique and her wardrobe work on “Sex and the City,” “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Ugly Betty,” I assumed an over-the-top, flamboyant personality who might also be a shopaholic herself.

But no. She’s every bit the fashion pro. And now, when I think about it, I don’t know why I was surprised at all.

I think a lot of people look at fashion as a fun, fluffy business, but it is every bit as demanding as any other field, requiring a lot of discipline and hard work. Those with longevity don’t tend to be shopaholics because the biz rewards those skilled at editing wardrobes, and I imagine a shopaholic would be all over the map when it comes to making selections.

For a moment, I had to wonder if I am one because of my eclectic closet and shopping bags full of unworn items. Just this morning I found two sequin belts (one red, one silver) with heart buckles that I bought from former SB’er Shawn “Speedy” Lopes, now owner of Stylus. Yay! I wanted to wear one two weeks ago! But, while I have been known to be impulsive, buying things the moment I spot them, I’m not addicted to shopping. (more…)

By Nadine Kam

Associated Press
Designs by Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Really enjoyed seeing the photos come in from the Paris couture shows last week. The designers appear to have worked hard to avoid the suggestion of recession. Fashion is about appearances after all and putting one’s best effort forward as if by convincing themselves that it’s business as usual, than consumers might also be convinced.

Print space being limited, I was only able to run a couple of photos from Dior and Giorgio Armani Prive last week, so here are a few more creations by other designers.

As always, the details are amazing, and even if these clothes are just fantasy to millions, seeing them does provide some enjoyable escapism.

A gown by Lebanese designer Georges Chakra.

Color splash from On aura Tout Vu, by French designers Livia and Yassen.

Pretty packaging from Elie Saab.

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld with one of the many icy creations he sent down the runway.

Designs by Christian Lacroix, above and below.