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

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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By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
It rained confetti and streamers yesterday at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of Ala Moana Center’s opening. The Brothers Cazimero did the honor of singing Happy Birthday and a cake was wheeled on stage, and the streamers fell after representatives from 11 original remaining stores in the center blew out candles on the cake.

Ala Moana Center marked its 50th anniversary yesterday with ceremonies at CenterStage and a private reception to mark the opening of the celebratory exhibition, “Fifty Years of Fashion in Hawai’i.”

Anyone who doesn’t believe fashion can exist in Hawaii need only walk through the doors to step into a colorful past when Hawaii was on top of the resortwear world. The Golden Era for Hawaii’s manufacturers was from the mid-1930s through 1970s, when the rest of the world caught up to what we were doing and took casual and resort style corporate and global, making competition tougher.

The exhibition is a good reminder of what came before and what to strive for. It features more than 50 garments from the historic Costume Collection at University of Hawaii-Manoa, presented by Hawaii Fashion Incubator (Hifi).

Some of the creations are so stunning, they begged to be touched. Signs tell visitors not to touch the fragile pieces, of course, but shopaholics are so accustomed to browsing racks that one fashionista confessed, “Oops, I touched one of them!”

The opening-night fashion crowd were wowed by this gown.

HiFi co-founder Melissa May White was there and asked which was my favorite piece, which was hard to determine. They were all so wonderful in their own way. But we all agreed that this gown was one of the most fabulous in the exhibition, looking totally 2009 red-carpet ready. I also liked a blue 1950s swimsuit with pockets, picture further down this post, as well as a casual 1980s dress by Geoffrey Beene, also pictured later. I almost missed the Beene dress because it looks so contemporary, but I liked that look of ease and comfort suggested in use of lightweight, body-skimming nylon knit.

Some of the center’s luxury retailers also got involved, contributing pieces for the exhibition, including classic Gucci purses, a Dior saddlebag design, and Louis Vuitton’s Hawaii Regional VP Dale Ruff was there for a peek at a window showcasing satin sandals with orchid detail, created by Marc Jacobs exclusively for the Hawaii market in 2007.

Pieces by Alfred Shaheen in front of a colorful newspaper advertisement from McInerny. The white room, formerly home to a Japan-based jewelry boutique, was perfect for the display and I thought if would be a great idea if the center could make room for a permanent museum for a rotating display of garments from the UH collection. Fifty is not nearly enough to include a true picture of who’s who in Hawaii fashion. I may be wrong, but I didn’t see anything from Crazy Shirts, for example, which probably had the biggest impact on the way we dress today—not just in Hawaii.

The school’s 20,000-plus piece collection is certainly the most extensive archive of Polynesian-Hawaiian style, and Melissa mentioned that having a permanent home would encourage more people to donate pieces if they know they will be cared for, displayed and enjoyed.

A museum might also be able to charge a small admission that could be divided by the center and the school, toward better maintenance and cataloging.

From the center’s stance, General Growth is not doing so hot these days, so they need the site to pay for itself and there is already a tenant coming into the space, but the idea has been noted, and a person with the center said it might be possible to stage an annual exhibition, should a space come available.

For now, it’s a very nice addition and you can see the exhibition through Aug. 31 on the third level of the Nordstrom Wing, in a storefront between Express and Nordstrom.

Love these vintage swimsuits, especially the one on the left, which has pockets!

HiFi co-founder Melissa May White, who helped make the exhibition possible, stands at one of the displays. To the right of her is a 1950s piece by Ethel Shiraki de Saussure, who I wrote about in the Star-Bulletin here. You’ll see a photo of the designer wearing one of the tiny brocade dresses in the exhibition.

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By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photo
What came first, the accessory or the wardrobe?

I contributed to the economic slowdown when, for a couple of months earlier this year, I failed to shop. There comes a point when the closets and dresser drawers are full, and before bringing home anything, one starts asking, “Do I really need another black dress?” Or jacket, or purse, etc.

We probably all have much more than we need (want is another story), so after a while I stopped looking. Then, I was working on this HI Luxury men’s June/July fashion spread, centered on one of summer’s best accessories, the Panama hat.

Accessories are so big now that more people are wise to the ways of stylists and how they can change up and personalize a basic wardrobe with scarves, jewelry and layering.

I can’t afford a Montecristi, but I did buy a summery straw hat (I know, I know, they don’t offer sun protection), and with the hat as inspiration, I picked up the pieces above to wear with it. All of a sudden, I was cured of shopper’s block. It was the first time — outside of print — that I tried building a wardrobe around an accessory. Usually, I fall in love with a top, skirt or dress first, and the accessories are icing. I think this economy is forcing everyone to shop and think differently. These are interesting times.

Leah Ball photo for HI Luxury
Kahi Kapololu in a Newt at the Royal fedora, $650.

Here’s a link to my long-ago opus about the Panama hat as it appears on the Web site of Hawaii’s Montecristi go-to guy, Brent Black. I’m glad he picked it up because I can’t find it on the Star-Bulletin site anymore.

By Nadine Kam

Michelle Ramos photos
From left, Lindsey Kemp, Samantha Silverberg and Christine Pagano dressed for Hippie Holiday tonight.

Revisit the summer of love during the first Hippie Holiday event taking place in the Honolulu Arts District from 5 to 10 p.m. today.

I was trekking through Chinatown today after lunch and ran into Lindsey Kemp (@lindseak), who, with Samantha Silverberg and Christine Pagano, was getting a headstart on the gallery stroll featuring 1960’s-inspired art and music, highlighted by the screening of “Playing for Change” — Mark Johnson’s film that starts with street musician Roger Ridley playing for change in Santa Monica — at 8 pm. at NextDoor on Hotel Street. For all the info, check out John Berger’s story in today’s HiLife.

Also spotted this flower-powered Karmann Ghia parked on Pauahi Street:

Bring the love to the Honolulu arts district tonight.

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Meanwhile, Bare Escentuals is sharing the love with 20 percent off today through June 25, online at BareEscentuals.com (use promo code “SHARE”) or print out the coupon at http://tinyurl.com/mdma7w and redeem at the Ala Moana Center boutique in the Nordstrom wing.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
Nalani Ravelo, left, and Kate Schuette model prom dresses at Neiman Marcus.

Prom season is around the corner and Neiman Marcus is hosting a prom event today, along with their Beauty Event, continuing into March. I ran into Kate Schuette and Nalani Ravelo on the store floor yesterday when they were doing informal modeling pf prom dresses, including the ones pictured, by Sue Wong, at $390 for the gray, and $350 for the pink. Prom dresses weren’t as pretty when I was in school, or maybe they were but no one was carrying them.

With all of the spring colors available, it will be a pretty season. I’m just wondering how the economy will affect proms. In the past, retailers have told me parents spare no expenses on their children at prom time. We’ll see if that holds up this year as well.

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If you have time tomorrow, check out jewelry made by Rona Marie and friends at the Kim Chee & Jewelry Sale at 928 Wailupe Place, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 1.

I see more people opting to buy jewelry over clothing now. I guess the rationale is clothing wears out, but jewelry doesn’t, and even if you tire of a piece as is, stones and metal retain their value and can be reworked into updated styles.

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Lastly, here’s a random sighting on the street yesterday. If you have to wear a helmet, it might as well be a reflection of you:

By Nadine Kam

I enjoy Fashion Indie’s “Before They Had Stylists” feature, like these pictures of Kanye. Need I say which is the before and after? THAT’S entertainment!

You can go to http://fashionindie.com/category/style/before-they-had-stylists/

Sorry I couldn’t light it up for you, the Wordpress link function isn’t working right now.

By Nadine Kam

eLuxury.com photo
I now have the adult version of this 3.1 Phillip Lim children’s clipped feather swing skirt. (It’s not actually feathers, but fabric.)

It was with great sadness that I discovered a 3.1 Phillip Lim skirt for $250 on eLuxury, after I had paid more than $300 on sale. I was relieved to find it was a children’s skirt I was looking at, though if I had known there was a children’s size available, I definitely would have tried to squeeze into the 9/10 or so.

Maybe the sales gods just haven’t been with me, because I had eyed a black See by Chloe top at Nordstrom when it opened. It was more than $400, and now, it was gone. All the See by Chloe and Phillip Lim stuff were gone. I was kind of mad that my boyfriend had told me earlier not to get it, not because of the price, but because it had a rather large bow in front and he hates extraneous, fussy, frilly things — which I guess makes me wonder why he likes me.

It’s not like he runs my wardrobe or anything, but if he speaks I must listen because when it comes to clothes, he’s generally right. A guy with a good eye can be your best shopping ally because he’s less likely to indulge your fantasy life and dress the real, often dumpier you.
It’s a fact that in a dressing room I’m another person, so I come out with some choices that are good for someone else, and pretty bad for me. It helps that I’ve sought the opinion of one of our photographers here, Craig Kojima, who was pretty brutal. So now when I try things on, I always hear his voice saying, “That does nothing for you.”

If you’re about to make a mistake, just say those words and see if they’re true or false. Something worth buying will make your body look better than it really is. The no’s will be obvious. Something marginal will be just OK, neither excellent or bad on you. It’s the marginal things that pose the greatest problem, because they could be easily be yesses. But if you can say, “It does nothing for me,” and walk away, you could end up saving a lot of money, though it still doesn’t stop me from falling in love with individual pieces, rather than the way they look on me.

I wish I could be one of those with classic, appropriate adult style day in and day out, but I have a feeling I’d be bored.

By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
From left are Tori Richard, Ltd., president and CEO Josh Feldman, Kahala store manager Krishna Chatterjee, and Kahala creative director Dale Hope.

The Kahala Store celebrated its grand opening with a blessing and pau hana celebration at the Ala Moana Center June 19, with entertainment by Makalei, and kalua pig springrolls and fish and poi on the menu.

It was a kamaaina gathering with all the “kids” — Josh Feldman, son of Mort of Tori Richard; Dale Hope, former Kahala owner and son of Howard of Sun Fashions; Pua Rochlen, son of Dave of Surfline/Jams World — all-grown up and in charge. You can read stories I’ve written about them here: Tori Richard, Kahala, Jams World.

The Kahala brand has been reinvigorated under Tori Richard, revisiting its surf roots. In keeping with the theme, guests left the party with a bar of surf wax, among other things, including an inspirational booklet bound to leave some thinking about the things we take for granted, like grace, family, honor and aloha.

I was just thinking about that this morning, when I was driving and came upon a coned lane, one of many on our roads, and a driver with a bumper sticker that read “Drive with aloha,” sped up to cut me off. I was so mad I took down the license plate number, NWS 836. It wasn’t getting cut off that bugged me as much as the hypocrisy of appropriating the word “aloha,” when that woman clearly had none.

But, I digress. The store, at 800 square feet, was too small to accommodate all the well wishers, so expanded into the mall’s common area and Blue Hawaii Surf across the way. And with an abundance of ginger and maile lei, it was one of the sweetest-smelling parties I’ve been to in a while.

I thanked Mark Cunningham for being a vision in orange in his Kahala shirt and color-coordinated cords. He said, “I’m not afraid of color. Color can’t hurt you,” joking that most people would only wear these colors at Halloween and Thanksgiving, if that. Katye Killebrew sneaked into the picture. (more…)

By Nadine Kam

Photos by Nadine Kam
Peter Shaindlin with Bud League of INspiration, in front of one of Shaindlin’s nude figures, covered for our PG readers. Bud mixes Energie with an Armani Collezione jacket and a little tattered, shredded cloth “for a little effect.”

Honolulu Design Co., Stage restaurant, HonBlue, Bouvier Productions, Matthew and Louise Evins, and our other co. HI Luxury, sponsored “Body & Soul,” a photographic exhibition and auction celebrating the human figure June 12.

On view were framed photographs by Nic Gariaeff, and 4-by-8-foot images by Volcano artist Chiu Leong and Peter Shaindlin. Who knew the Halekulani chief operating officer is also a budding artist? “It’s just a hobby,” he said humbly.

Father and daughter Chiu and Asia Leong in front of one of his clay-covered figures.

While there I caught up with the lovely jewelry designer Asia Leong, who was also there as a photographer to support her dad. She’s back home from her other life in Paris and says she’ll be here for a while. What would be weird for most people to know is that I’ve written stories about her twice but never met her due to the magic of the phone interview. I just recognized her from her photos, and with her dad there as one of the featured artists, put two and two together.

The invitation called for über-chic attire, and people were asking, “What does that mean?”

Not much here, where a come-as-you-are attitude prevails. I, for one, wasn’t about to go home and change, and just wore my teal BCBG work dress. But I did have some fun clothes spotting.

From left, Michele Henry, Malie and Walter Moran. Michelle is wearing an ostrich feather-trimmed dress from BCBG.

From left, Charlotte Hutton Cox, INspiration’s Donna Sakamoto in a dress from Adore, and boots, and Austin Cox.

Charlotte Cox’s black dress was simultaneously simple and chic, and when I asked about the label, it was even cooler when she reached down the front. I was like, “Oh, you’re wearing it backward.” Done that before when I either think the back is prettier than the front, or it’s so low cut in front, I prefer to wear the back forward, but the dress by Amsterdam designer Percy Riaus can actually be worn five ways.

She said she looked at it five times before trying it on, hoping that it wouldn’t fit. Of course it did and she couldn’t resist taking home her ultimate black dress. The museum exhibition developer just moved here and is looking for a job, BTW. She has a good eye …

The statuesque artist Dana Forsberg, was, like photographer Elliot Takane, impressed by the large-scale images created with the help of HonBlue. Forsberg is wearing an ensemble by an Argentinean designer.