Nadine Kam photos From left, going for the long look, were Spa Hawai’i Magazine & Directory editor Kapua Inglis, Modern Pacific Weddings and Events Regan Schultz, and SHMD creative director Tiare Friedman. Kapua and Tiare wear Maui designer Tamara Catz designs from Persimmon on the Big Island. Schultz is in Nicole Miller, which she carries at her 3620 Waialae Ave. showroom.
A little much-needed rain didn’t spoil the July 3 premiere party for Spa Hawai’i Magazine & Directory. It’s one of those great ideas, where, considering all the spas that have sprung up in the last decade, you go, why didn’t I think of that?
The party on the lawn of the fabulous Moana was presented by Regan Schultz’s Modern Pacific Events, an extension of her Modern Pacific Weddings for those who want a party without that nuptial component.
Roxanne Vogelgesang and Bo Alexander. Roxanne said she likes the long look, but says the extra fabric does make it harder to walk.
When I arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the fashion statement being made. If there was any doubt before that the maxi, or currently, patio dress is back, it seems that women are indeed willing to go long. I wanted to take photos of lots of them, but at about 7 p.m. it started to get dark really fast. When the rain started, the party simply scooted over a couple yards indoors and under cover of the lanai.
While there, spa specialists were also introduced to products and services offered by Makana Esthetics Wellness Academy, Malie Organics from Kauai, the online beauty and skincare company Artistry, and a sneak preview of soon-to-launch Pure & True Organic Beauty. (more…)
Nadine Kam photos Clinton Kelly, of TV’s “What Not to Wear,” received a warm welcome from petites and non-petites alike at Macy’s.
Petite women had a lot of their style questions answered by Clinton Kelly at Macy’s Ala Moana June 7 when the co-host of TLC’s “What Not to Wear” presented a brief fashion show and style workshop.
Poor thing, he’s from New York City where walking 20 to 40 blocks is no big deal and quite pleasurable given all the sights and wonderful places to stop along the way, whether you want to shop or eat. So he thought he could walk from Waikiki to the mall. Well, he didn’t count on Hawaii’s intense sun and lack of shady, inviting sidewalks. So he was hot and exhausted when he got there, but did his showman’s best in entertaining the crowd, just like the show!
Kelly asked for volunteers to be critiqued. So he asked this woman why she would come to see him in athletic shoes, when they so obviously bring her ensemble down. He recommended she try ballet flats instead. He said her skirt also could have been narrower.
Questions from the audience were pretty basic, like “do you have to match a black bag with black shoes.” I believe the last time that was done may have been in the 1940s/50s. Do these women who want advice not notice the explosion of color and pattern featured in every newspaper, magazine and TV show? Kelly said that combining color, pattern, texture and shine is what creates interest in an outfit.
Empire seaming just under boobs and above the natural waistline creates the illusion of length, camouflaging a thick waist, bottom-heavy figure, and making legs appear longer.
Like learning any skill, from swimming to playing poker, dressing well takes paying attention and practice. Kelly reiterated that it takes WORK and trying on A LOT of clothes, and not just whining after trying on one item and complaining manufacturers don’t make anything that fits. (more…)
If you’re looking for something to do tonight, mixmix is hosting a First Friday event with Japan stylist Hiro from Tokyo, and Yoshi “Garo” Ogino of Affloat from Aoyama, where he is known as
a beauty magician from his work on fashion shows, TV productions, celebrities and models. They’ll be performing hair and makeup makeovers from 7:30 p.m.
It’ll be a busy weekend with the following also going on:
Today through May 11
>> This is your reminder that Mother’s Day is on May 11. To help you shop for the occasion, Alliway at Ward Warehouse is hosting a Mother’s Day sales event, with 35 percent off Alliway jewelry and including gift wrapping. While there, enter to a $10 gift certificate to the store by entering its monthly “count the beads” contest. Information: 589-1141.
Saturday
The Pretty Me line of kids and women’s wear will be highlighted in Kahala Mall’s “Wild for Mom” family fashion show at 12:30 p.m. on center stage at Kahala Mall. Pretty Me is co-sponsoring the show with Kahala Kids, the exclusive retailer of Pretty Me clothes at the mall. Other retailers to be featured are Adore, Banana Republic, Blush, Calista, Cinnamon Girl, In My Closet, Kahala Kids, Macy’s, Ohelo Road, Shasa Emporium, Sunglass Hut and VUE Hawaii.
Sunday
>> The Hawaii Red Cross honors eight founding members of the Tiffany Circle at a Halekulani Luncheon on Sunday, highlighted by a prize drawing for three pieces of Tiffany jewelry.
Honorees are Carolyn A. Berry, Joey Harris, Kitty Lagareta, Kimi Matar, Camille McCormack, Jean E. Rolles, Madison Shimada and Barbara Wong. The event will begin with a noon champagne reception, silent auction and informal modeling by Tiffany & Co. jewelry, also featuring fashion by New York designer Angel Sanchez. Tickets are $250, to benefit American Red Cross services in Hawaii. Call 739-8151.
>> Honolulu Theatre for Youth hosts a fundraiser “Fashion Fiesta Children’s Fashion Show and Luncheon,” 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kahala Hotel & Resort. The fashion show will feature 50 kids of all ages, wearing apparel from Cinnamon Girl, Crazy Shirts, Hawaiian Moon, Fighting Eel, Pretty Me (at Kahala Kids), Local Motion, In4Mation, CupCake Boutique, Muumuu Heaven, Nakea Awai and KariJane. If you’re attending, wear a hat. HTY will honor the fanciest, largest and funniest hat worn by a guest. (Speaking of which, I’m doing tea today and forgot to wear one, even though excuses to wear a hat are so rare.) Tickets are $125. Call Tim Bostock, 521-9699, or e-mail tbp@artsatmarks.com.
>> Student designers from Honolulu Community College will show their work in “Behind the Seams,” a fashion show taking place at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, with more than 100 original designs from 20 students, including seven seniors. The show starts at 1 p.m., preceded by lunch at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $35. Call 845-9203.
Belated post from April 13 Japanese Women’s Society Foundation fashion show, “Open Your Tansu.” Been filling in for someone on vacation, so it’s been a grueling three weeks doing two jobs+. Didn’t have much time to edit my video from the show until yesterday, tho’ I don’t know why it’s so pixelly. I swear it’s clear when I’m looking at it direct from camera to computer.
The show opened and closed with dancers from Iona Pear opening and closing a tansu set up on stage. Takeo and Eric Chandler, back from the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, were first on stage to present their 2Couture designs.
After that, students from Chieko Yamaguchi’s Kimono Samba classes showed their creations. Emcee Pamela Young said they were so nervous they couldn’t eat anything before taking their turn on the runway. It’s a big stage when you’re a newbie.
The last time Yamaguchi was here in January, I asked her if any of her students had surpassed her. She laughed and said, “Not yet.” And after seeing her designs, I’d have to agree. From what I could see up close, her work involved more labor than she let on in trying to encourage people to take up needle and thread to transform unused kimono into street-ready, contemporary garments. She conducted a workshop in the days following the show, which had to be extended to allow students to finish their projects.
It was different from a typical fashion show, in which garments are put up for sale, in that none of the Kimono Samba pieces were available for purchase. It’s that whole “teach a man to fish” philosophy geared toward teaching skills others will also be able to pass on over time.
Speaking of passing on good things, I was seated on a table with Audrey and Ed Case, who brought living gardenia plants from Maui for all at the table. Just before Earth Day, it was a thoughtful gesture and good idea to get people to start thinking about green giving and planting as much as possible.
Nadine Kam photos Jane Lyman blows out the candles on her birthday cake.
While working out details of a fashion show that may take place later this year, Kensei Takeda, along with Dale Young, decided to treat birthday girl Jane Lyman to an intimate, private fashion show for 14 women on March 16, four days after Jane’s 86th birthday.
The “Art of Jewelry” fashion show featured models Tara Chanel, Tania de Jesus and Iwalani Ynigues wearing designer dresses that showcased Kensei’s handmade hats and jewelry. In between segments divided into “Modern,” “Ethnic” and “Classic” pieces, Cheryl Bartlett entertained the group with songs from “Phantom of the Opera” and Disney, as well as one of her own compositions.
Models Tania de Jesus, Tara Chanel and Iwalani Ynigues, plus hosts Kensei Takeda and Dale Young, and singer Cheryl Bartlett are photographed with the birthday girl, Jane Lyman.
Kensei, a hair stylist who works with royals when they’re in town, is a Renaissance man who’s also known for making fabulous meals, though this time, he was too busy for that. So, guests enjoyed pupu from Jon Matsubara of Stage restaurant, along with champagne, cake and ice cream too—what more could a girl want?
Nadine Kam photos One of the 2Couture designs from the Chinese Women’s Club of Honolulu’s “Cherished Heritage II” fashion show.
Hi,
Sorry I’ve been AWOL for so long but was feeling a little drained, moreso because I lost a whole bunch of photos from the Shop A Le’a Preview Night March 6, a fashion show at Escada March 7, and the opening segments of the Chinese Women’s Club of Honolulu’s “Cherished Heritage II” fashion show at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on March 8.
It’s such a Journ 101 thing to do, but as new tools evolve, there’s always a new way to blunder. In the olden days, when I started in journ, our fear was losing a roll a film, somehow exposing it before hitting the darkroom, or mangled interview cassette tapes. These days, it’s the dreaded delete button, and how it happened was at the Sunday fashion show, I had shot pieces from Andy South’s, Katrina Bodnyk’s and Allen Carrell’s collections, plus a performance by Jordan Segundo, who’s got a CD due to be released soon.
Aureana Tseu in a 2Couture design from the “Cherished Heritage” fashion show. Below, Miss Hawaii Teen USA Emma Wo in a wedding gown by Eric Chandler.
Jordan sounds great, and just goes to show you how experience pays off, his presence is so much better than when he competed on “American Idol.” I decided I wanted to use his second song, so thought I’d delete the first since I had a lot of images from four days of events and didn’t know how much space I had left on the media card.
Well, usually I don’t delete until I’ve downloaded everything, then I “Trash All.” So I instinctively went to “Trash All,” and poof! All gone. Works just like that dreaded “Send” button when you catch it at that moment you hit it and send it to the wrong person. (more…)
Here’s the Nordstrom March 5 fashion show footage for those who weren’t there, and the many who werethere but still missed both runs because of the size of the venue and the general feeding frenzy (of both edible and material sort)!
The show was divided into several cohesive segments. My apologies for the show coordinators, but I’ve mashed segments together so people with the worst Internet connections won’t think it’s too much of a chore to download. The real show had about four times as many outfits. Could have been more. I’m really bad at math, but you’ll get the gist as far as the size of the stage, the pacing and general ambience.I also made a separate video of the men’s segment, again, for easy downloading.
Nadine Kam photos Easter colors on the runway at Nordstrom.
New faces on the runway. All but two of the 40 models were flown in for the fashion show. Guests were asking why there was a need to import models. Height plays a part, but it’s also all about the walk, which has become more apparent to me while attempting to shoot video and photographs. These models look good with every step.
Still recovering from the fun of the Nordstrom fashion show gala last night. Amazing! About 2,500 people paid $150 to be at the event, which raised $400,000 to benefit Hawaii Theatre Center, Bishop Museum and HUGS.
Guests had the run of all three levels of the store, with performances by Amy Hanaiali’i and Matt Catingub, Jimmy Borges and Mihana Souza centered around the First Floor piano, with attendees dancing when the mood struck. Food and dessert stations, with selections by Chai Chaowasaree, Elua’s Donato Loperfido and Philippe Padovani, and JJ Pastry, were set up all around the store, and cash register counters and makeup counters were turned into makeshift bars.
Guests rode the escalator from floor to floor to see all the store had to offer.
I could tell who reads this blog because they were the ones who came up to me and seeing I was wearing a black (after all) Alice + Olivia dress, told me, “Hey, you’re not wearing what you said you were going to wear!”
Yeah, well, there are always last-minute snafus. I got there close to 8, though I had planned to be there at 7.
For me, the runway show on the third floor was the highlight, and I rushed into the tent for the first show at 8 p.m. When I was told earlier that the show would repeat at 9 p.m., I didn’t understand the rationale, but as large as the venue was—almost as big as many of the New York Fashion Week Bryant Park shows—it would not have been able to contain all the guests, many of whom missed in show in favor of shopping, flirting, noshing, getting foot massages, etc., etc. Those who missed the show said they’d wait for my video. Ooh, the pressure! (more…)
Photo by Nadine Kam Lunch is served at Neiman Marcus.
Neiman Marcus hosted a Giorgio Armani Spring 2008 fashion show Feb. 29 to benefit The Contemporary Museum.
They did a lot of shuffling to clear floor space for the event, which also featured a lunch served with precision by dozens of waiters who entered the room single file, carrying two plates per person, presented in sync. On the menu was olive bruschetta topped with greens and grilled shrimp panzanella salad. Dessert was a Meyer lemon white chocolate tiramisu with seasonal berries.
The Armani collection was polished and understated, with tailored jackets in varying lengths for women who appreciate classic style. Muted neutrals were shown with an occasional splash of bright red and green, and navy blue. You can see part of the show on the video:
Video by Nadine Kam
After the event, guests walked over to the Armani boutique area to get a closeup view of the designs.
There were many artists in the house, as well as patrons of the arts. I was seated next to Balcony Gallery’s Jodi Endicott, who is beginning to show work from the Kailua gallery at a special Salon event during First Fridays on Nuuanu Avenue. Check it out from 5 to 9 p.m. March 7 at the Hawaii Times Building, 928 Nu’uanu Ave. Great news for those too lazy to make the short trip over the Pali to Kailua.
AP photos Design from the Gianni Versace Fall/Winter 2008 collection.
The Milan fall/winter shows started on Wednesday, and it seems as if the global economy has brought Italian and American designers in sync. Many of the streamlined silhouettes and colors looked as if they would have been right at home on New York’s runways. Collections from Dolce & Gabbana, Romeo Gigli and Versace were relatively devoid of excess.
Of course there were luxurious fabrics and accents such as Fendi’s renowned furs, but I can’t help thinking that worries about a sinking economy are leading designers to tame their wildest impulses to create more wearable pieces.
