Kimono Samba at the Sheraton
By Nadine Kam
Nadine Kam video
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.
