By Nadine Kam

Christian Siriano

When I watched the spring/summer shows in New York, it was hard to imagine the final form in which the designs would reach consumers. The shows are not always about what’s wearable, but about impressions, mood and image setting.

Well, we didn’t have to wait long to see Christian Siriano’s runway to realway interpretations. The designer introduced today a limited-edition and affordable capsule collection of signature silhouettes and print from his Spring/Summer 2010 runway collection shown a month ago during New York Fashion Week.

Oceanic print blouse, $19o, worn with silk charmeuse pencil skirt, $139. A blouse detail, below:

The capsule selection includes a dress and blouse in silk charmeuse and metallic pencil skirt, as a knit tee, scarf and blouse in Siriano’s blue Oceanic print.

Prices range from $98 to $220, and the pieces are available exclusively on www.christianvsiriano.com.

Here’s a link to my coverage of his show:  http://www.hsblinks.com/16o

And a photo of one of his key runway designs:

Getty Images

His runway collection is currently distributed at Saks Fifth Avenue and boutiques including 4510, Helen Yi and Wynn in North America and Alothman in the Middle East.

Siriano will appear as a guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” today, featuring a showcase of his Spring 2010 evening gowns and Payless runway collection shoes well as his recently released book, “Fierce Style: How to be Your Most Fabulous Self.”

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
A model and photographer from the Open Air 8X10 Fashion Show bring pedestrians into the fashion picture.

I received an email from the Extremely Hungary organization that jogged another N.Y. memory. The pro-Hungarian group hosted a fashion/art project on 6th Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd streets, bringing the fashion shoot to the street by photographing passersby with models dressed in creations by Hungarian designers in an event called the “Open Air 8X10 Fashion Show.” You can see some of the resulting images by visiting their Flickr stream.

Open Air photos

I’m afraid I got caught up in the moment and was one of those who posed for them, but had the sense of mind not to sign the release form that would have allowed the photo to be unleashed who knows where around the world. I did give them my email address to receive the photo, but didn’t think they’d be organized enough to figure out which email went with which photo.

It was a fun idea that brought a lot of people not normally interested in fashion into the picture.

Nadine Kam photos
Polaroid images of some of those who stopped to pose on the street.

Here’s a DIY idea for updating your old shoes. One of the models was wearing a pair of black slingback wedges dressed up with various pieces of colored leather and fabric.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Victoria’s Secret Angel Marisa Miller will sign autographs for fans from 4 to 6 p.m. today.

I was at the opening at the Victoria’s Secret store this morning at 8 a.m. for its blessing because it’s my job to be there. What I don’t understand is why, by the time the store actually opened at 9:30 a.m., there were more than 600 people in line waiting to get in. Do they think they’re going to run out of bras? Is it a point of pride to be the very first customer? It’s not like a pop-up shop that’s going to go away overnight. Victoria’s Secret is really here to stay after we’ve patiently and agonizingly waited our turn while they opened more than 1,000 other stores around the world.

The line started at 6:30 a.m. and that’s got to make the company happy. Victoria’s Secret Angel Marisa Miller was there for photographs and interviews, and the City Managing Director Kirk Caldwell was there to welcome the store, and, filling in for our traveling mayor, to place a lei around Miller’s neck with requisite kiss. The opening, he said, is “very good news for Hawaii,” as a bright spot in our economy with such a major retailer demonstrating their confidence and commitment to the state.

If you read the story in the print edition today, you can learn about the opportunity to become the next VS Angel by entering online at VSAllAccess.com and CBS.com.

Star-Bulletin business reporter Nina Wu, in black, interviews the first people in line to get into Victoria’s Secret. The line went around the corner, between Sears and Longs, to the parking lot, and alongside Sears past Jamba Juice. As person after person entered the store, I wondered how many it could contain. (It swallowed up the former Island Snow, TheGap and Disney spaces.) They stopped the line at 500, then started admitting a few people at a time as shoppers exited.

The job is more demanding than you’d imagine, and the Angels have to have more going for them than a super body and pretty face as they also serve as ambassadors and spokesmodels for the brand. You can begin to imagine what that takes when you realize such media dynamos as Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum have served as Angels.

Kelly Boy De Lima, of Kapena, was the second person to make a purchase. Guys are quick, no-nonsense shoppers and he picked up a gift card for his daughter’s 18th birthday.

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By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
At the Gottex show, a model steps out in an assymetric ruched swimsuit in Desert beige degradé print with Desert grosgrain gold accent belt.

At some point, I’ll finish all my NY Fashion Week stories, though by now the London and Milan shows have ended. Sorry, I guess that’s the difference between keeping up with two or three events spread out over a week, and four to five a day.

Of course there’s a sizable market for swimwear in Hawaii, so shows by Rosa Chá and Gottex were a must. At Rosa Chá, new creative director Alexandre Herchcovitch showed a sunny array of yellows and vibrant oranges, exuding the heat of the Brazilian brand.

Meanwhile, at the Gottex swimwear show — full of rich creams, golds and ocean blues in retro-glam styles geared more toward poolside soirées than rough-and-tumble waves — I slipped from second row to an empty seat in the first row where, for once, my view was unobstructed.

There is a sweet spot when it comes to timing your seat move, after all the seated guests are in, but just before the standing-room-only crowd enters. The show planners always overbook because just as with televised sports, the designers don’t want to play to a batch of empty seats. Move too soon, and the person whose seat you’re grabbing may show up and roust you. Move to slow and available seats will be filled by quick-moving SROs. Worst case scenario, the seat holder shows up, an SRO has already filled your seat and is not likely to give it back.

Ochre brush print swimsuit with gold disk and precious stone embellishment worn with silk chiffon top with embroidered grosgrain gold accent belt. At right is the cobalt blue sea print lycra swimsuit with cobalt blue grosgrain gold accent belt.

The seat holder doesn’t show. Score! Problem is, I’m not front-row material. I’m too busy and fidgety, turning this way and that for photos, when the videographers in back of the house expect the front row to be motionless, save for turns of the head. Any other movement distracts from the show.

Nadine Kam video

It didn’t help when I reached for my video camera and my bag spilled over toward the runway. Luckily, the contents didn’t fall out, but then I couldn’t reach the handles, and rather than have my head bobbing toward the floor and right arm reaching out for the cameras to capture the struggle, I let it lay there for the show’s duration. In the photos you can see how close it is from the chairs to the runway.

I also take it personally when someone in the show’s control booth shouts, “Uncross your legs!” The leg stabbing out toward the runway also interferes with the video and camera shots. But then, there’s a lot of stirring in the audience and it turns out I’m not the only one uncrossing.

At left is Gottex’s Ochre degradé lycra swimsuit with Fade-out desert print silk kimono and Ochre embroidered gold accent belt. On the right is a Coral red abstract print side-ruched swimsuit worn with a Coral red abstract print silk caftan and red grosgrain gold accent belt.

The show opened with strong showing of sand and cream colors — for the most confident or fittest women — maillots and bikinis, including one-shoulder designs, then moved into sparkling sequined blacks which isn’t very practical, unless one plans to wear them as part of an evening ensemble.

There was also a segment featuring a beautiful cobalt blue sea print, and another showing a touch of red via faux coral necklace embellishment, print and faux coral charms.

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By Nadine Kam

Courtesy photo
Betsey Johnson signs her T-shirt at the Sharpie Bar inside the tents at Bryant Park on Sept. 14.

One of the perks at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week was the appearance of Betsey Johnson 2 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Sharpie Bar inside the tents, along with a giveaway of T-shirts she designed, to be colored in with various hues of Sharpie markers, also given away by the handfuls for the DIY projects.

I missed her appearance because all my IMG updates were going into my Star-Bulletin spam filter, and I didn’t check it until the day after her appearance. (The other giveaway I missed was for YSL tote bags.) The T-shirt giveaways were continuing through Wednesday though, so I was able to pick up a T-shirt and skinny white tie. Betsey and Sharpie were also giving away headbands and white sunglasses to personalize with the markers.

During her appearance, Betsey — a breast cancer survivor — customized one of her T-shirts to benefit City of Hope Breast Cancer Research Center.

The event gave me a feeling of déjà vu because when she was here after the opening of the Ala Moana store I had brought along a plain white tee for her to sign, which she happily filled with lips and kisses in the form of x’s and o’s. Plain white made sense to me because her designs are usually so full of splashy colors and patterns that a signature would get lost. Boutique manager Marilee Mattson always reminds me that set off an avalanche of signings that night.

Here’s a Sharpie video of Betsey at the Sharpie Bar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoE1ZEagR1s

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Flowers were handpainted on these pink dresses shown during Koi Suwannagate’s presentation at Gana Gallery on Sept. 16.

Thai designer Koi Suwannagate asked what if love were a flower in her collection of feminine dresses and gowns shown at Gana Gallery at 11 a.m. on Sept. 16.

Dresses were handmade and some handpainted, with jewelry also taking the form of gold and silver lotuses designed by Prinn Jewelry.

Music played during the gallery presentation was a spare, Asian-inflected whistled version of the “Theme From Love Story.”

I wanted to shoot some video but had forgotten to recharge my camera battery the night before. Just in case I could find an outlet on site, I brought along my battery charger. I spied several empty outlets while there, but each seemed to neighbor to an outlet with a light unit plugged into it. I imagined plugging in and short-circuiting the whole show. Those kinds of things seem to happen to me at home, but I have a feeling they’re much less forgiving here. So I refrained and simply snapped photos.

Designer Koi Suwannagate, center, talks about one of her designs.

The tableau included lilypad, frog and lotus constructions lining the gallery.

Handmade gold lotus earrings by Prinn Jewelry were shown with the clothing designs.

Shoulder details are in for fall and will likely continue into spring.

Bare shoulders and floral waistband on one of Koi Suwannagate’s gowns.

By Nadine Kam

Photos by Nadine Kam
After Norma Kamali’s presentation in the Apple store in SoHo, everyone followed the designer onto the street to see her pieces available now at NormaKamaliCollection.com, NormaKamaliBay.com and in Wal*Mart stores. She believes technology is democratizing the distribution and availability of fashion, and that consumers are no longer willing to follow designers’ and retailers’ traditional schedules

Only one event today, Norma Kamali’s “democratization of Fashion” presentation at the Apple store in Soho. I’m anxious to hear what she has to say because she is a swimwear pioneer and legend who is now blazing a trail in the place where technology and fashion meet. I’m interested in all aspects of technology because it is changing the way we live so radically and the things we do or don’t do now will impact quality of life in the future.

She held onto her white iPhone throughout the event and proclaimed her love for the device. I picked up one two days before leaving home — it’s a long story — and it has been a life saver, not only for email, Internet and phone contact, but providing me with maps and compass so I didn’t waste much time getting lost.

She started her tech track only a year ago, when retailers slumped on their buys. She decided to test sales direct to the public at wholesale prices and she said that made up the shortfall.

Now, this is the part that may change the rest of the fashion world. Technology has made communication instant. In Hawaii, we should know better than anyone, because the diss to Hawaii has always been that it takes a year before trends arrive to the masses. No more. We get the information the same time as everyone else thanks to the Internet, increasing visibility and desire so that more people are dressing up.

So, what she has done, rather than give knock-off artists time to beat collections to stores, is put everything shown up on eBay the day of her presentation in light rain on a SoHo street, knowing people will want what they see now, and not have to wait until six months from now. Maybe that’s why I was in Topshop afterward, trying on a pale pink feather skirt (feather idea Jason Wu, color story Erin Fetherston).

I was also shopping for things that will carry over to spring, such as tny silver sequins and a white cut-out sleeve top from Alexander Wang that I found at Aloha Rag.

The pace of retail, in light of technology may be too slow for consumers, so what happens next? Her presentation gave us something to think about at the close of Fashion Week. Exciting times.

Norma Kamali’s models show designs being sold at Wal*Mart and on eBay through the NormaKamaliBay.com app. All pieces are wholesale priced at $250 and under. It was about 60 degrees in the rain. One of the other swimwear models had chicken skin.

Kamali faces the press and her fans.

By Nadine Kam

Getty Images courtesy IMG
Dennis Basso’s champagne silk charmeuse top and champagne silk organza tiered skirt with ribbon detail.

Dennis Basso is mostly known as a furrier, but maybe the prospect of facing off with PETA again got to him because his show kept furs to a minimum while playing up starry night and Degas ballerina skirts that flared from fitted bodices with a twist.

Nadine Kam photos
One of Dennis Basso’s bare backs. Yes, that’s Fern Mallis across the way.

Nadine Kam video

The photos from Getty Images show only half the story from the front. Viewers expecting fully covered backs saw airy, sporty cuts cuts instead, open to a chill factor, hence creating the need for shoulder and partial back-warming boleros and shrugs of chinchilla, mink and broadtail. Anti- fur people will easily find other options to wear with his party dresses of organza, voile, crepe de chine, taffeta, silk jersey and silk charmeuse.For his collection, the designer received a standing ovation.

Getty Images

Nadine Kam photo

Getty Images
Gold diamond-dusted python bustier and bronz chiffon dress with gold ribbon across the model’s eyes.

Getty Images
The crowd cheers the designer.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Jill Stuart designs were shown in a runway show at the New York Public Library.

New York being the home of cool professionalism, there’s not a whole lot of drama or weirdness on the runways here, compared to that of Europe or L.A. While everyone loves a spectacle, these shows are about selling clothing to American women who generally can’t shake a Puritanical, practical streak. When shopping, I always overhear women telling friends, “I don’t have an occasion to wear that.” Who needs to wait for an occasion? Call a friend for lunch; that’s an occasion.

That said, Jill Stuart went bold with her show in Astor Hall at the New York Public Library behind Bryant Park. With fashion risk takers such as Cher as inspiration, her show was all about playtime and making a memorable entrance.

She started her show with clean, crisp white dresses before moving onto blacks, mixed black and white, then came bursts of metallic green, blue and pink.

Jill Stuart harem pant jumpsuit.

Black leggings, a touch of lace and metallic green.

The grand venue of the New York Public Library.

Mesh boots on the Jill Stuart runway.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Outside the Bryant Park tents after the Gottex show, Sept. 14.

In New York, fashion isn’t limited to the runways.

Outside the Koi Suwannagate show:

Inside the Catherine Malandrino show at Chelsea Art Museum:

Japanese media outside the Malandrino’s show:

The tamer side of Patrick McDonald:

At Max Azria, Sept. 15:

The uniform of New York fashion week: Very short skirt or shorts, very high strappy bondage heels and motorcycle or boyfriend jacket. Below, front-row footwear at the Jill Stuart show, Sept. 14:

At the Malandrino show:

Jason Wu’s models in their own clothes before the show:

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