Lolitas, steampunk denizens and cosplayers at home at Kawaii-Kon

Nadine Kam photos
Kawaii-Kon attendees are never shy about being photographed.

For the non-anime, non-manga fan, Kawaii-Kon offers a quick intro to the world of cosplay, Lolita dressing, and increasingly, steampunk. I don't recall seeing any steampunk clothing two years ago, the last time I attended the event, but their contingent is growing, and that adds to the excitement of the event. I mean, if you're not a cosplayer and you've parachuted in for a couple years, if you've seen one Itachi and Sasuke pairing, you've seen them all. Steampunk offers more opportunity to get creative because there's no defined character template.

I was there to capture the Lolita Fashion Show on video, but naturally got sidetracked by all the costumes. It's less scary than Halloween because most people aren't hiding behind gruesome masks—well, with the exception of one zombie!

It's always fun to just walk around, and this year I got dressed as a more contemporary, businesslike Lolita, so I didn't feel so much like a voyeur as in past years when I simply arrived in street garb!

Earl Crawford spent three months working on his "World of Warcraft" Tauren costume, with his daughter as Astrid, the Viking Girl from "How to Train Your Dragon." They're with Julia Tashima and her daughter Kaleia.

Xinyun Cao is Hatsune Miku from "Vocaloid."

Dan is Sephiroth from "Final Fantasy VII."

Brian Patgue and Jeffrey Lucas are cardboard robots Danbo and Yotsuba.

Lolitas lined the stage at the finale of the Lolita Fashion Show that took place April 30.


Video link for iPhone

Matt Brannies, left, is pictured with Tory Laitila, a steampunk cossack, with kindred spirits in the background.

Won Park, already a master of origami, has turned his craftsmanship toward creating impressive steampunk accessories.

Jordan Miller spent five months working on his Shimon costume.

Kira Cowles, left, is Scanty Demon, and Selina Sonoda is Kneesocks Demon, from the anime "Panty & Stocking."

"Dragonball Z" family, from left, Andrea Ogata as Bulma, Kai Ogata as Trunks and Jon Ogata as Vegeta.

I was following this guy around for a long time, but my notes got messed up so not sure what this costume is.

Chloe Nichol in steampunk drab.

Rick Oishi is Gray, from "Fairy Tale," with Sarah Chang as Juvia.

Summer Ramey is "Star Wars" Princess Leia.

Cody Beem is an Umbrella Corp. Undead Squad II specialist with zombie Dale Beem in his sights.

Kevin Nagata shows some of his new toys to Won Park.

Waiting for the start of the Lolita Fashion Show, Erica Antoine is dressed as Ruki, from the Japanese band Gazette, at center is boy Lolita Michael Tromboc and Patrick Upega dressed in elegant gothic Lolita style.

Candace Gabriel is Yuna, from "Final Fantasy X," and Cregan Yanagihara is Squall, from "Final Fantasy VIII."

Megan Fellows, right, is Sophie from "Howl's Moving Castle,' with her sister Megan as Howl, holding Calcifer, the fire demon.

Sean Matsuo, left, and Jamie Kim, in Lolita style.

Tori Ninetails as Lulu from "Final Fantasy 10," with Christian DeCosta as Naked Snake from "Metal Gear Solid."

Angie Hanai is Athena from "King of Fighters."

Lolita Momoko Ryugasaki.

From left, Ty Yamasaki is Tobi, from "Naruto," Raquel Algono wears school girl pink, and Michael Uehara is Karasuma from "School Rumble."

You may have seen Hawaii's Keke Lindgard

Photos courtesy Wilhelmina
Model Keke Lindgard, left, in a campaign for DKNY's resort collection.

The Wilhelmina model search brought Roman Young back to town, and I got a chance to talk to the Iolani graduate about how he got his start in the biz and how he worked his way up to becoming Director of Scouting for the New York office.

My story will be in Thursday, Feb. 24's, paper.

He also talks about model Keke Lindgard, who's from Kaaawa, and who has taken the fashion world by storm, landing a spot on Style.com's Top 10 Newcomers list in 2009, and going on to fulfill that destiny. She's landed major campaigns with the likes of Gucci, Ralph Lauren and D&G, as well as walked runways as diverse as Rag & Bone, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior and Armani Privé.

Keke Lindgard for Gucci Eyewear.

Roman said that in spite of her success, few in Hawaii know her name because her work has been in New York and Europe. A lot of people from Hawaii do well abroad, without us necessarily knowing their names.

Keke in a Trussardi Jeans campaign.

That's not only in fashion. Some of my favorite musicians have been from Hawaii, though few here have ever heard of The Dambuilders or ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead because they left and never looked back.

Granted, ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, now based in Austin, Texas, is not for everyone, but at this point the band is my absolute favorite. I was lucky to catch their one of their shows when I was in New York in 2009, because who knows when or if Conrad Keely will ever bring his band home to play. Like I said, the band is not exactly a household name here.


Here's one of my videos from the show, but if you watch you have to stay til the end to get the full scope of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8m9eCkmQBs Be forwarned, they have two drummers so it's gonna be loud.



Beyond music, Conrad is also a gifted artist who has been toiling in steampunk imagery long before he knew there was term for his futuristic and industrial, yet Victorian sensibility.

Here's a link to a video of him talking about his art and his notion that hoop skirts are sexier than bikinis.

Conrad Keely's comic book artwork coincides with the release of ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's new release "Tao of the Dead."

Conrad Keely at the drawing table.