Pashma celebrates colors of spring

Nadine Kam photos
Pashma Hawaii International Brand Manager Naomi Gauthier is flanked by models Rose Alama, left, and Moani Hara in Pashma tops and wraps.

The lush colors of India and the luxury of cashmere were on display during a grand opening celebration and fashion show Feb. 18, featuring the Pashma Spring 2014 collection.

The boutique opened in the lobby of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, a Luxury Collection Resort, last year, but held off grand opening festivities, timing it to the arrival of the new collection in bright colors befitting the season and Hawaii resort style, even though it comes from halfway around the world.

Pashma, founded in 1991, is an India-based, family-owned company and the artisinal brand can be found in 40 countries, from Singapore to France. The shop at the Royal Hawaiian is its first in the United States.


Non-flash video

Before the fashion show began, guests browsed the boutique to view brand's luxurious cashmere wool, linen and silk—the "noble fibers"—scarves, wraps and ready-to-wear separates and dresses.

The show gave people many ideas on how to wear the items, so many gravitated back to the store afterward, to pick up scarves starting at about $195.

In the Year of the Horse, designer Shilu Kumar came up with a limited edition bold horse print scarf, so I scooped up this piece of wearble art, thinking it might bring me better fortune. I don't know if color matters in this regard, but although it was available in bold tangerine, I got the one in more staid gray. The soft cashmere feels so good against skin, and though lightweight, is made to keep you warm when there's a chill in the air. I plan to use it on an upcoming trip to San Francisco.
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Pashma is in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, A Luxury Collection Resort, at 2259 Kalakaua Ave., Suite 701, behind the Sheraton Waikiki. Call 808.931.7234. Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Visit www.pashma.com

Miss Hawaii USA 2014 Moani Hara in a Pashma design.

This print modeled by Miki Taniguchi is reminiscent of Hawaii flora.

This top has a flowing self-scarf, great for people who must be coordinated, but who tend to lose track of accessories.

Fresh spring colors on Rose.

Poohko Hawaii's Ritsuko Kukonu had to get a feel of this cashmere dress.

Shop A Le'a finale

Nadine Kam photo and videos
One of my favorite looks, from Spiral Girl, from Ala Moana magazine's Spring Trends show, one of the finale events for Ala Moana Center's Shop A Le'a.

Last week's Ala Moana Center Shop A Le'a left me exhausted. With so many events going on, rushing there and back to the office before returning again for events later at night for certain events, I felt the same kind of stressed energy as at New York's Fashion Week.

At one point I had to gas up the car and was in such a rush I drove off with the gas cap on top of the trunk. So then I had to make an extra trip to BMW for a $31 replacement. Grrr!

It was the best model I've seen for what a true fashion week could be like here, with its six days of events and fashion shows, with a quartet of local designer collection launches. Both Richie Miao and Andy South received much-deserved standing ovations for their respective Lovelessizm and South by Andy South showcases.

It's just great that we have designers who have the know-how to entertain while presenting their stories on stage.



This is something I talked about a while back with Lynne Hanzawa O'Neill, who presented her "Rules of the Runway" March 26 on Centerstage, and recapped her March 23 "Catwalk 101" tips.

I asked her once how she could be so relaxed during New York Fashion Week when she's producing more than a dozen shows in a week's time. She said what makes it easy is that it's very turn-key there. Most of the official shows are in one location, so the set up, all the lighting and sound technicians are in place. I even see the same security guards year after year.

Shows start on time because the designers know they have to be out of a venue so the next one can be set up. It gets to be very formulaic, something we don't have here because there is no established venue and every designer starts from scratch, which is hard.

I think any kind of Fashion Week here should ideally be in one venue. It's too hard to get around here because of traffic. (We should have built rail 30 years ago.) Many people who wanted to catch the shows missed them because they were stuck in traffic. That's one of the things so great about New York. I could easily cover any 40 blocks in 15 to 20 minutes, so never missed a show due to geography. Through oversleeping after staying up til 5 a.m. some days, yes.

Oscar Night style

Getty Images
Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Couture and Cate Blanchett in Givenchy.

If you scour the Internet long enough, you're going to find someone who agrees with your picks for best and worst gowns of Oscar Night. Here's my two cents:

I didn't see a lot I liked, but loved the way Mila Kunis looked in the lilac Elie Saab Couture above. Cate Blanchett is getting high marks in the British press for her Givenchy gown. A daring choice. I liked the shoulders but was less enamored by the puka front.

I thought Hilary Swank looked great in Gucci, and had the perfect coif to match. Too bad you can't see the side of her head in the photo below. And Hailee Steinfeld look very pretty and age-appropriate in a retro-'50s style Marchesa dress befitting the ladylike spring 2011 season.

I got the "Meow" crack when I Twittered that Scarlett Johansson looked cheap in lacy Dolce & Gabbana, but the picture doesn't lie. It looks like end-of-the-line Ross's. She did have the best accessory though, in Jeremy Renner! And for once, I liked what Gwyneth Paltrow was wearing. Her Calvin Klein gold sheath was a bold and daring choice amidst the usual sea of billowy, chiffon-y gowns.

Meanwhile, right here at home, the Hawaii International Film Festival once again hosted the local edition of the official Oscar Night America party at the Halekulani Hotel. Here's what some of the guests wore on the red carpet: Later, you can see what was on the menu as well, at Take A Bite.

Nadine Kam photos
The Watamulls' red garb echoed one of the trends on Hollywood's red carpet.

Tim Guitierrez with Catherine Lin in Marchesa.

Monica Ivey with Andy South. A lot of white was also seen on male presenters at the Oscars, including Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in Gucci, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

Mari Okamoto.

Making an entrance on the red carpet.

Andy South on the red carpet.

Peter Lenkov, left, executive producer of "Hawaii Five-0."

Angie Laprete with Monica Ivey.

Christina Simpkins with Wanda Watamull, and below with her business partner.

 

More photos can be viewed at HonoluluPulse.com.

Miu Miu in the eyes of female filmmakers

Miu Miu photos
Audrey Marnay in Miu Miu in Zoe Cassavetes' "The Powder Room."

The feminine love affair with Miu Miu is explored in "The Miu Miu Womens' Tales," a series of short movies directed by international female filmmakers. The first video, "The Powder Room" by Zoe Cassavetes, is being featured on miumiu.com, where you can also watch backstage footage and interviews with the actors and director.

"The Powder Room" is set in London’s posh Claridges hotel, where Cassavetes uses the romantic codes of the powder room to mirror the beauty and luxury of the Miu Miu brand, as a place where women can, if just for a moment, escape the universe of men.

The video stars Audrey Marnay, with models Caroline de Maigret, Line Gost and Sophie Vlaming also entering the
dream-like setting.

While showcasing Miu Miu clothing and accessories, each film will be as individual as each director’s particular cinematic point of view.

Made in Hawaii a novel idea for Waikiki

Nadine Kam photos
From left, Aloha 'Aina owners Seyon Chan, Kristy Carrina Curnow and Gina Fukeda.


For a long time, "buy Hawaii" was something nice to say, but like "buy American," was a philosophy few stylish people turned into action.

This may be the year Hawaii becomes cool again. With TV series "Hawaii Five-0" and "Off the Map" filming here, films made last year-including the George Clooney vehicle "The Descendants" set to premiere this year, certainly all eyes will be cast our way, and Hawaii designers are ready.

Where made-in-Hawaii has long been cast as a collection of loud, brassy kitsch and craft-yness, in the last couple years, without really trying, young artists have made it cool simply by doing their own thing, without regard to trend or mainstream retail climate.

Last fall, Island Edge opened at Ala Moana Center with the aim of promoting not only established brands, but indie designers. They succeeded in almost filling the store with homegrown product.

On Jan. 14, Aloha Aina boutique opened at Royal Hawaiian Center with the same philosophy of promoting local, filling its racks, shelves and showcases with clothing, accessories and jewelry by several local companies. Among them: Marylea Conrad, Sierra Dew, Indah, machinemachine, Meleana, Mi Cielo, Noelani Designs, Roberta Oaks, Wings Hawaii, and many more.

Hopefully, visitors will be able to distinguish and take home more of what is made in Hawaii, than what is made in China, Taiwan or the Philippines.

Look for the boutique on the second floor of Building C, across from Guess.

The women of Maui's Wings Hawaii are alumni of the University of Hawaii's APDM program. From left, Samantha Howard shows a handmade leather clutch, Becky Dosh with their house fashion magazine "Inspire," and Melody Torres with one of their screen-printed briefs.

Anuhea performed.

Clutches in eye-popping color!

Jewelry trays and other decorative home items are the latest offerings from the ever versatile Marylea Conrad. Below, she's on the far right with, from left, Wayne Kato, Yaling, Shannon Hiramoto of machinemachine and Cheyne Gallarde of Firebird Photography.

Mi Cielo's Kayo Master was there with her son Tristan in the Mr. T shirt she created for him. Her husband wears her Chewbacca shirt, and Kayo was wearing her adult version of her Princess Leia tee, also shown below in its original kiddie size. She was forced to create the adult shirts because she received so many requests when they saw her children's designs.

Keith and Julie Aragaki.

Among the guests were Bruce and Yaling Fisher.

Picture making behind the scenes

Nadine Kam photo

It's always fun to go behind the scenes of a photo shoot because theret are always those pieces that never get seen, ending up on the proverbial cutting-room floor.

When choosing clothing we always gather a little bit more than we need, just in case a particular ensemble doesn't work out on a model. But in the case of a shoot involving Anya Rozova, I needn't have worried. She looked fantastic in everything. That brings a dilemma of another sort, what to shoot.

These are the final days for picking up the December-January issue of HI Luxury, where you can see what made it onto the pages, but one of the pieces that I really loved that didn't make the final cut was the black dress above, from Neiman Marcus, with Art Deco lines.

It was very angular when she stood, in contrast with the rest of the shoot, which was more Art Nouveau, shot at the home of hair stylist Kensei Takeda. He had dressed his home for the holidays, down to the candles and red and gold flourishes around his whirlpool tub. Anya and I loved the bathroom and the dress, and just put two and two together for the impromptu iPhone shot.

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Meanwhile DISfunkshion magazine is preparing to launch its next issue featuring E! Television's Debbie Matenopolous as their model in a Fairytale/Bohemian-themed pictorial, with a March party to take place at The Edition Waikiki.

As a teaser, they send over a few photos from the session, featuring a mix of clothing from Andy South and Nordstrom, and dozens of accessories. Sometime model Adam Jung was the photographer for the shoot produced by Tyson Joines, with wardrobe by publisher Hugette Montesinos and Kyle Kagamida, with an assist by Allie Lee.  

Photos courtesy DISfunkshion
Debbie Matenopolous in the makeup chair.

Matenopolous in a gold swimsuit from American Apparel.

Photographer Adam Jung, left, contemplates the scenery with videographer Steve Wyman.

Plenty of accessories to choose from.

And shoes.

Andy South, more TK

Nadine Kam photos
Fans lined up for photos with Andy South at the "Project Runway" finale viewing party Oct. 28 at Honolulu Design Center. Andy's manager Monica Ivey, right, was there to make sure there was order to the madness, though his Honolulu Community College instructors Lillian Zane, Joy Nagaue and Karen Hastings inadvertently cut in early, in excited rush to congratulate him.

A couple hundred people poured into the Honolulu Design Center’s Cupola Theater on Thursday night for Andy South, whose fate on season 8 of “Project Runway” was finally revealed during a public viewing of the finale.

Fans lined up for picture taking that started at 7 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with the designer before the finale screening at 9 p.m., which meant that people who stayed home to watch learned of the results before most in the room.

I say “most” because those who really, really, really wanted to know who won needed only to have looked at Twitter or Facebook, where East Coast viewers had begun spilling the beans at 5 p.m. Hawaii time.

OK. I peeked. But I had a print deadline to deal with before I left the office for the event, though it was uncomfortable to interrupt him midway through the event to ask him the main question of how he felt about the results.

Models Momoko Metzker, from left, Nalani Ravelo and Kiani Yamamoto show designs from Andy's Fall/Winter 2010 collection, which he used to audition for "Project Runway."

In an interview prior to the event, Andy confessed to feeling relief that finale time had arrived and he would be free of the secret he’s kept for nearly two months.

But there was one other secret he revealed in his audition video, which was also screened for the audience. That is, he tries on all his designs, including gowns, and, oh Lordy, swimsuits!

“It’s fun!” he gushed in the video.

Prior to admitting guests, Andy dressed his models, including placing this rose headpiece on Daniela Voicescu, also below, for a fantasy ensemble. The pheasant feathers were from HCC professor Karen Hastings, which Andy dyed to suit his designs.

Another secret revealed when his mother took the microphone, was that even at age 4, he was already attracted to beautiful things. During a trip to Thailand, she said, the future designer admired the long nail ornaments worn by the Thai dancers, and told his mom, "I want those." When she said she would shop for them tomorrow, he said, "Now."

Andy with his mom Nora Sisounthone and her friend Robin Nanark.

After he got them, he put them on and tried to mimic the dancers' movements. Oh, and he also wore his sisters' dresses, which, broadcast to the room, made the designer bury his head on the floor, where he was sitting and watching the show unfold for the first time, just like the rest of us.

Somehow, that wasn't a shock after his saying he tries on all his women's designs, but there's a lesson in that for everyone else. Unless your mom is a public person, who understands the game, never let her tell stories about your childhood, when you were too young to self-edit! LOL!

Jenny Chen wore a lace top deemed "very Casanova," inspired by another of the "Project Runway" designers. Her cries of "Noooo," regarding the winner, echoed through the elevator and parking lot as I left the building. It was a little crazy as one guy zipped out of the parking lot without regard to people walking to their cars. There could have been a lot of dead stylists on the ground in his wake. Below, Casanova at work on his Episode 5-winning design.

Lifetime photo

There was a roomful of groans and “Noooo’s,” when viewers learned that Gretchen Jones had won the competition, but, ever gracious, Andy said he was happy for her, and thanked guests for staying out until 11 p.m. to watch the finale with him.

“This isn’t the end,” he promised. “Keep an eye out for my next project.” You can read more about what he's working on in the Sunday Star-Advertiser.

New Honolulu mayor Peter Carlisle was there, as was Malika Dudley. When I said to the mayor, "I didn't know you were a fashion fan," he was surprised. "Really? Look at me," he said.

HIFF: Film illuminates photog's passion for fashion

From "Bill Cunningham New York"
Photographer Bill Cunningham prowls the streets of New York, zooming in on his targets, shoes, accessories and clothing.


It's always a Sunday morning treat to pull out the Style section of the New York Times—I get old-school delivery instead of reading it on the Internet—and turn to Bill Cunningham's "On the Street" photos.

Through the Hawaii International Film Festival's art and design showcase, I got a chance to see Bill in action through Richard Press' documentary "Bill Cunningham: New York," which screened on Friday and Saturday at the Regal Dole theaters.

Even with my familiarity about the print business, I came away with a greater appreciation for his work. Most mind-boggling with that he still uses film cameras for his deadline work, when the rest of the media world converted to digital about 15 years ago for the obvious reason of speed.

Anyone who has a blog knows how much time it takes to upload dozens of digital files, much less take the time to process film, which is done for Bill off-site at commercial printers. And with his work for the "Evening Hours" party/society/gala scene, he goes through a lot of film.

Apparently, because of his preferred medium, he's often late in meeting deadlines, something his editors regard with humor, understanding the value he brings to the paper.

From "Bill Cunningham New York"
Photographer Bill Cunningham on the job.

I also appreciated the input he has in the design of his pages. Major daily newspapers work with a simple grid for speed an efficiency in page design that incorporates relatively few large rectangular photos, both horizontal and vertical. His layouts comprise dozens of tiny, extreme vertical and a few of horizontal blocks that don't seem arranged to work on any particular grid, due to his desire to show all the photos that convey his visual story. He works closely with a page designer in painstakingly shuffling dozens of photos around on the page until getting the right mix, with photos that speak to each other.

Let's put it this way. If he were are at our paper, he would be shot for all the time-consuming demands on a page editor's time. Yet, this is the same photographer who is so articulate and passionate about fashion that early Details magazine, one of my favorite magazines (before Condé Nast bought it), considered it perfectly normal to devote as many as 111 pages per issue to his fashion photography.

At 81 years old, he's still as spry as any 20something papparazzo (just don't call him that), and zips around the city via bicycle.

In his print space, he's given about 2 inches to talk about the fashion presented, so in all my years of looking at the page, I didn't realize how eloquent he is in speaking about fashion, until the Times started creating video slide shows with Bill's voiceovers. Here's another from Paris. In the videos is where his enthusiasm, good humor and intelligence about interpreting what he observes really shines through. He said he never sets out to look for individuals who buy into a trend, instead allowing the street to speak for itself in revealing the fashion zeitgeist, free from editorial and retail dictates.

While some people always see great mystery in trends—whether from the streets or from the fashion elite— or believe it's a retail ruse to get people to buy, I always feel there is something in the air that causes people to act in concert.

I don't believe retailers can urge people to buy what they don't want, no matter how many advertising dollars they may spend, whether in promoting a bubble skirt or caftan. All I know is that my eyes grow tired from seeing certain colors and shapes and actively seeks something different.

Once, I went to a pau hana event wearing pink and black. Unusual, right? And, a combination I rarely put together. Well, three of four women in our group were wearing the same combination. It was bizarre!

Even in this place, where seasonal change is barely perceptible, there's a natural inclination toward lighter colors in spring, and darker, richer, saturated colors in fall. It has to do with light, ambience and mood, and I notice this even with people who do not particularly follow fashion. There are some days, when nearly every editor here or nearly everone in our feature section is wearing the same color. I believe we are more in tune with this subconscious fashion wavelength than not.

I tried street photography years ago and started this blog with the idea that I could make note of what people are wearing on the streets and at events, but it's discouraging to go to just about any Hawaii event, ask what people are wearing, and hear only Forever21 and Wet Seal. Not that you have to spend money on fashion, but I just like to see an unusual mix, whether high-low or contemporary-vintage. Off the same rack doesn't interest me at all, whether it's all trendy-inexpensive or all Louis or Gucci. Mix it up!