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.

Wilhelmina coming to Hawaii

An affiliate office of Wilhelmina is Honolulu-bound. Longtime ADR agency owner Ryan Brown signed a licensing agreement with the global modeling powerhouse, and the first model open call will take place Feb. 19 at Windward Mall. I'll have more information closer to the date, but if you have modeling ambitions, it's probably wise to get your portfolio in order.


Wilhelmina Hawaii will open with two divisions, men and women, with plans to add teens and children in fall, encompassing editorial, high fashion, ramp and commercial modeling. The new affiliate will actively scout, develop and produce models for national and international markets, including possible placement Wilhelmina International's corporate offices in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

Brown has been a Hawaii agent for almost 20 years, and has been the owner of the Screen Actors Guild franchise agency, ADR Agency for 12 years. ADR will continue its operations under agency director Nazarene Anderson.

For more information, call 447-9434.