Fashion Tribe: Japan students share hair and attitude

Nadine Kam photos
Dyed, toussled hair and drawn on sideburns and facial hair helped Shusaku Kutsuura's team to victory, as well as the guy-guy kiss below.

It was all about hair and attitude, when students of the Yamanishi Prefecture Beauty College of Japan arrived in Honolulu to study with Kensei Takeda of Chez Kensei Salon, who shared his techniques as well as elements of presentation.

According to Takeda, who was also trained in Japan, their technique is comparable if not more advanced than the west, but many of the students lack the attitude and charisma to match the west. He noted it's a pity the girls, for instance, don't know how to walk. You've probably noticed this in Waikiki, when you're on the sidewalk behind a bunch of Japan tourists clomping around in high heels.

To help them hit their stride, he brought in model Tara Chanel, who helped them, not only with their walk, but with their smiles. "They're so shy," she said, adding that it took a lot of work to get them to smile.

I was called in at the end of the program, to help judge the results when they brought in all the aspects of what they'd learned in Kensei's workshop. This was to bring together all elements of hair, makeup and presentation in a runway show. Tara and I were two of five judges, and when the results were tallied, I noticed my numbers for the girls were significantly lower than hers. It's because I just took their smiles for granted. I mean, it's the minimum to win any pageant here, right? But Tara, having trained them to do so, and seeing how hard they worked at it, knew what a great improvement they had made and judge accordingly.

It didn't help the girls that they hadn't gotten the message, before leaving Japan, to bring outfits necessary to create a total look. Many of their looks had ornaments and jewelry interwoven in with strands of hair, from bows to strands of faux pearls.

There were a lot of hair ornaments, and below, some teams used magazines for inspiration.

Striking a pose seemed to come naturally to many of the girls, but according to instructors, it took a lot of work to make the Japanese students overcome a societal reserve.

Classmates had a good time watching the show.

They were told to bring attitude to their walk, something that came more easily to the boys than girls, and first-place winner Shusaku Kutsuura probably would have won anyway, but clinched his title with a big smooch with both of his team members, all guys.

Of course, the audience of classmates went wild and it was well-documented with dozens of camera flashes. What happened in Hawaii definitely won't stay in Hawaii.

The second-place look on Aki Sato, front and back.

The other winners were:
2nd place: Aki Sato's team, for a braided, hatlike do and overall presentation in black and red.
3rd place: Ikumi Tachibana's team, for a Japanese Lyle Lovett-style wild do.
Most unique: Miho Ishihara's team for a long do with a pouffy crown.
Most original presentation: Yoshihiko Kaneko's team, for a slouchy, disheveled look.