ITAA hosts conference and fashion competitions

Nadine Kam photos
Lisa McRoberts, from Louisiana, shows "Tropical Paradise," one of the pieces entered in the category of Hawaiian-inspired garment design in the International Textile and Apparel Association's Creative Design Awards.

Five hundred members of the International Textile and Apparel Association have descended upon Honolulu for the organization's annual conference, highlighted by a series of fashion shows and academic presentations that began Nov. 14 and continues through Saturday.

Alas, attendence is open only to ITAA members, an association of professors involved in the apparel industry.

Conference co-chairs Andy Reilly, from the University of Hawaii's APDM program, and Linda Bradley, of Washington State University's Apparel, Merchandising, Design & Textiles program, were instrumental in laying the groundwork for the conference, featuring dozens of speakers, including Josh Feldman, president and CEO of Tori Richard, one of the keynote speakers.

It's great that they are able to come here and examine what's going on in Hawaii, while presenting informative workshops that allow those in the industry to get a feel of innovations elsewhere.

McRoberts and Linda Ohrn-McDaniel of Kent State University show an undergraduate student's work, "Coral Reef," utilizing vinyl with cutwork and machine-made lace with a jersey knit bodysuit.

Workshops include use and application of the sustainable apparel index, geared toward reducing environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products; impact of United States imports from China; an examination of the price of Levi's jeans across countries; functional/protective apparel design; and much more.

I was lucky enough to be invited to be a judge in the ITAA's Creative Design Awards. Judging took place Nov. 14 at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa, where designer Jeannie Chun, Hifi co-founder Toby Portner and I faced the daunting task of choosing from among 136 incredible designs. It turned out to be a four-and-a-half hour task, that went that quickly because we were in agreement in most cases. At times, our criticisms as the garments were presented made if feel like "Project Runway." The intricacy of the designs, the handwork, and thought process behind many of the works wowed us.

Judging was blind, so we don't know the identities of the undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members who created the designs, although I recognized some of the designs created by UH students.

There were many pieces we said we wished we could keep, and contest organizer Linda Ohrn-McDaniel, an associate professor at Kent State University, suggested talking to the designers after the fashion show and awards ceremony taking place Friday night at the Marriott. We had to do our judging based on presentation of the garments and photos of the designs on models or manikins. The show will be our only opportunity to see how the garments move and wear on the runway. I'm looking forward to it and will be shooting video for those who can't be there.

For more information, visit http://www.itaaonline.org/

Photos courtesy ITAA
All the judges loved this "Mountain, Cloud and Portrait of a Beauty" Korean-inspired bias-cut dress of naturally dyed raw silk and ramie, entered in the fiber arts professional category. The blue pieces were hand-sewn using gamchimjil, similar to overcast stitch, typically used in Korean quilting, with handpainting.

Photos courtesy ITAA
Everyone from Gwen Stefani to Victoria's Secret have run afoul of Native Americans for their misinterpretation and misappropriation of culture, but we loved this diamond pattern woven tube dress with fringed hem and corset back, and wrap, inspired by Native American hand-weaving.

"CoVess" is a graduate student work comprising material made of repurposed felt waste.

Fellow judge Toby Portner holds up two of our favorite designs in the Professional Awards category. One is a dress made by recycling camouflage jackets and pants. The other is an exquisite digital printed linen jacket.

Prior to judging, designer Jeannie Chun inspects garments on the racks. This "Circles" dress was created by a graduate student.

An undergraduate student created this wood dress also incorporating cotton muslin, with detail of the wood slices, below.

I was intrigued by this dramatic "Earth Warrior" sweater and bodysuit ensemble inspired by samurai armor, created by an undergraduate student. The description below also shows what it looks like on the body.

Also loved this undergraduate creation, a tunic made from a men's leather jacket outer shell and men's jean jacket fur lining.

Tiffany Ala Moana reveals new look

Nadine Kam photos
Tiffany's new leather goods salon is part of the Ala Moana store's new look, revealed today.

Tiffany & Co. at Ala Moana Center hosted its grand reopening this morning, following a complete renovation that includes new panel artwork, a nearly floor to ceiling chandelier, private showroom and leather goods salon.

I was given a sneak peek yesterday, with a mini tour from none other than Tiffany Leather Collection design directors John Truex and Richard Lambertson, in town for the grand opening and their own peek at the salon that grew around their collection, introduced a mere two years ago, that now encompasses more than 300 items including small leather goods, travel bags for men and women, and a full range of day and evening purses for women.

"Competition is fierce out here so if we were going to do leather, we were going to do leather," said Truex, who was admiring the new salon.

"What they did here is breathtaking. It's so client focused and the collection looks phenomenal in this space," he said, adding that the increased space allows them to show "the more novel, collectible and humorous side of Tiffany."

Truex explained the duo's process of "hanging back and looking at who's peeking in the windows, and asking 'What would she want?' "

They also considered such clientele as the woman who appreciates art and architecture, and asking what she would like to carry. Some of the collection features sleek rectangular and curvilinear Art Deco lines.

Before joining Tiffany three years ago, John Truex, above, and Richard Lambertson were considered in the industry to be the go-to designers for animal print leather goods, and they've brought that expertise to Tiffany, introducing animal prints and exotic skins.

The designers brought with them a sampling of the Spring 2013 collection as well, with bright yellow, orange, white and honey hues inspired by Holland, tulips, daffodils and the purity of flowers.

"Coming off the fall political season," Truex said, their feeling was one of cutting loose of the negative campaigns and taking a happy approach to life.

Amen to that.

Tiffany Ala Moana's new, shimmering chandelier.

Project Runway: Ivy tries hand at graffiti

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa works on her graffiti ensemble in the "Project Runway All-Stars" workroom.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 3: "Up Your Aerosol" recap

Just like last week's "Project Runway All-Stars" challenge, this week's proved to be both challenging and fun.

The designers were taken to a graffiti-covered warehouse, termed "aerosol art" here, and just as you'd expect, the challenge was to take spray paint to silk or cotton fabric, and create a work of wearable art.

Hawaii-raised designer Ivy Higa said she looked forward to the challenge that called for "thinking outside the box."

Considering her clean compositions, this was an opportunity for her to get messy and dirty, which is hard to do. That's why I get so mad when the non-artistic look at art and proclaim, "That's so easy anyone could do that."

I think not. Children are capable of great freedom in their work, but most adults have been trained/scared to stay within lines rather than embrace a childlike lack of restraint. I would think it's also hard to paint fabric while simultaneously planning how the art will fall or how it will be placed on a finished garment.

In following her push for girl power, Ivy thought of superheroes and comic books, covering her fabric in words associated with female empowerment.

Considering the art to wear aspect, her finished suit ensemble cleverly drew on the spirit of pop art by Roy Lichtenstein, but the words she chose, like "tenacity" were too long. It would have been more legible and graphic if she'd stuck to her first thought, focusing on such simple comic-book fight words as "Pow" and "Bam." Judge Isaac Mizrahi said as much when he said he was excited by seeing the word "city," but less so to read the entire four syllables.

The cropped back was a nice touch on Ivy's jacket.

After all the critiques, Emilio Sosa was named the winner for a dramatic and severe flaming orange jacket and pencil skirt ensemble that judges praised, not only for its strong silhouette, but for its sense of graffiti authenticity. I think he was the only one who actually grew up with graffiti, and in his early remarks, he said the last thing he wanted to do was try to copy graffiti artists. He went with color over graphics.

Anthony Ryan Auld came in second, and Ivy's still doing well in the top three. And Suede went home for a costumey creation only worthy of a Party City.

Toward furthering the cause of women, Ivy has been a longtime supporter of the Nomi Network, with a mission of creating economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk of sex trafficking by providing training, product development and marketing support.

Anyone can help support the cause by mentioning #teamIvy on Twitter anytime and often from now through the series finale. If she gets the most tweets, she'll win $10,000 as fan fave, donating a portion of the win to Nomi Network, which she also supports through sales of her clothing line.

Learn more about the tweet competition here: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway-all-stars/season-2/fan-favorite

Emilio's winning design.

Beauty Spot: The Face Shop to open at Ward Warehouse

Nadine Kam photos
A peek into the newest The Face Shop at Ward Warehouse.

The Face Shop will open its second location at Ward Warehouse tomorrow, in the midst of Ward Centers Festival of Giving, today through Sunday.

To celebrate the occasion, The Face Shop will be offering a 20 percent discount for shoppers with a Festival of Giving Passport, which is $10, a fundraiser for 75 local nonprofits. Details are at www.wardcenters.com under "events."

I was able to take an early peek before leaving on vacation, and while there, four shoppers wandered in, thinking it was open. On learning it was not, they still refused to leave, browsing and cooing over the product selection. It was clear they were excited about the opening, which had to be good news for owner Thomas Kim, who said he opened the store for those who don't like the crowded parking situation at McCully.

He hadn't originally intended to open a second store in town, and would have preferred to open on the Leeward side, a project still in the works for Westside dwellers who can be patient.

The new store has the same footprint as the original at McCully Shopping Center, and on opening day Nov. 3 will have a few lines exclusive to the Ward location for now. These include the Flebote White Crystal line and Chia Seed Skin Care, made with chia seeds that retain moisture.

I'm loving the lightweight Chia Seed Moisture-Holding Seed Essence as a day and night moisturizer, pairing it with a hydrating Raspberry Roots Sleeping Mask that is great for travel, preventing you from shriveling up like a prune in dry jet air. Just smooth a layer on your face before you sleep, and rinse it off when you get to your destination. Or not. While I do have to rinse it off at home, I found I didn't need to in the extra dry plane air.

It will leave your face shiny while it's on, but on a plane, who'll notice? Other passengers are more concerned about their own comfort.

My first impression of the store is that it is very colorful, due to placement of color cosmetics and nail enamels.

The Face Shop masks are perfect as an inexpensive at-home spa treatment anytime.

The Face Shop is known for its skin-care lines from Korea, one for virtually any skin condition.

For lips.

Also available there is a vibrating BB Cream puff applicator for a flawless-looking application. A downside is it makes it harder to remove the cream, but new cleansers have been formulated to help.

It's a jungle out there

Nadine Kam photos
Handbag designer Linda Sakraida with a selection of her newest "It's a Jungle Out There" Hadji Baba bags.

Lynda Sakraida presented her latest collection of Hadji Baba Bags, themed "It's a Jungle Out There," Oct. 29 at The Gallery at Ward Centre.

She figured if she was going to throw a party, it might as well be on her birthday, so it turned out to be a double celebration.

Whereas many artists/designers try to replicate their success as a matter of survival and cash flow, Sakraida's unique in that no two of her bags are ever alike due to a self-professed short attention span. She's also self-taught so isn't beholden to any rules, and because she's inspired by pattern, textiles, textures, findings, jewels and notions, she embellishes her work with one-of-a-kind objects she picks up on travels and in shopping art galleries, boutiques and trade shows. Some recent holiday-themed bags incorporate jewels gleaned from napkin rings.

Her jungle collection include bags incorporating textiles embellished with monkeys and parrots, as well as textured burlap bags that she painted with images of birds and flora. The one-of-a-kind nature of the bags means there's one particularly suited for each individual.
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The Gallery at Ward Centre is at 1200 Ala Moana Boulevard. Call 597-8034. To view more of her work, visit http://gwcfineart.com/Portfolios/Pages/Lynda_SakraidaHadji_Baba_Bags.html

Lynda Sakraida's hand-painted burlap Old Crow Bag is $100.

Her Monkey bag ($315) incorporates varied textiles, leather and a vintage wood-carved flower detail.

Her Lion King bag is $250.

What's a jungle without real parrots? The red eclectus is named Maile, the green eclectus is Mulligan and the yellow ringneck parakeet nibbling at Lynda's lei is Romeo.

Another strong finish for 'All-Star' Ivy

Lifetime photos
Ivy Higa in the "Project Runway All-Stars" workroom.

"Project Runway All-Stars"
Episode 2: "Put on Your Dancing Shoes" recap

The challenges on "Project Runway" and "Project Runway All-Stars" are often entertaining for TV viewers, but I wouldn't consider them fun for the designers. But this week's challenge was an exception.

The designers were sent to the Nine West showroom, where awaiting them was a dozen shoe styles. The designers were to pick one shoe to build a disco-themed ensemble around.

Last week's winner Anthony Ryan picked first, then picked Kailua Kona-raised designer Ivy Higa to go second. She chose a glittery gold sandal, that more than any other selection, sparkled like a disco ball.

She picked her follow Season 8 castmate, Casanova, to go next.

Ivy's pick of Nine West "disco" shoe.

After all had picked a shoe and they sketched their ideas, off they were to Mood, where Ivy picked a beautiful complimentary emerald green chiffon to go with her shoe. She was thinking '70s-era jumpsuit. but what she came up with was a combination romper with dress overlay, with a solid-and-sheer fabric mix that has become her current signature.

In fact, just as interesting as her designs so far, has been watching what she's wearing, which have all been her creations, and available for purchase at her website, ivyh.net, a natural method of smart product placement

But when Joanna Coles entered the workroom to deliver her critique, she worried whether Ivy's dress would come across more as day wear than club wear.

Ivy's creation.

Ivy, ever the competitive spirit, said she felt that because the prize for the win would be a part in Nine West's ad campaign, she figured it was important to create something that would stand on its own, as well as play up the shoe, and Joanna raised the question as to whether she was addressing the competition or the prize. Ideally, if one lives up to the competition, one would take care of both aspects.

On the runway, Ivy made the top three for the second week, but after all was said, Ivy's dress, with a stone-studded gold yoke and beautiful sheer pleating, took second place. That makes two second-place finishes for the Hawaii designer.

East German-born Uli Herzner, who had no reference point for an American-style disco, was named the winner for a stunning white dress that was more updated American squaw than disco. Somehow, she pulled together many elements, including feathers, fringe, shiny stones and sequined fabric to create a complex, yet easy-to-wear, polished and high-impact dress. It worked out well, considering Joanna's initial criticism was that she must have been asleep because Uli's style of dress was something she'd never seen in the '70s, though she'd been a disco habitue.

So far, Ivy is showing she's capable of beautiful work, and I'm sure the industry is noticing. Hope she makes this second go at the series work for her instead of against her.

Uli's winning dress.

Wendy Pepper went home for a mall look inspired by her teen-age daughter, with too many bells and whistles.

Shaheen stars in Bishop Museum exhibition

Nadine Kam photos
Garments by Alfred Shaheen show the cultural inspirations that influenced his work. His world view was global a half century before the word started defining the economy.

The work of Alfred Shaheen will come to live through  an exhibition, "HI Fashion: The Legacy of Alfred Shaheen," opening Nov. 10 at Bishop Museum. I will be out of town but will be back in time to see his garments on the runway during a fashion show, "An Evening of HI Fashion," from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17, featuring his work, along with that of Reyn Spooner and Andy South.

I was lucky enough to get a little preview while photographing the museum's staff models for my story in the paper today.

It was so wonderful to see so many Shaheen pieces in one spot, including wall-to-wall aloha shirts. And in their workrooms, racks and boxes of Shaheen garments, courtesy of his daughter Camille Shaheen-Tunberg, waiting to be fit onto manikins. Usually, I only get to see Shaheens virtually, during late-night searches on eBay.

I bought this later-period Shaheen dress on eBay for about $36 a couple of years ago.

Opening day festivities include talks by fashion historian Linda, Bishop Museum's DeSoto Brown, and Camille and her husband William Tunberg, who got her started on her mission to recover and preserve her father's creations.

Sometimes, in the day-to-day ordinariness of making a living, people don't realize they are creating something magical.

I always saw the beauty in his work and his factory was still open when I started writing about fashion, but I never sought him out, thinking there was always time. I was too young  to conceive that something here today might be gone tomorrow, and in a difficult economic period, he closed up shop in 1988.

As Camille explained, by then all his six children had other lives in other fields, so there was no one to carry on the family business.

But, a name and style like his couldn't be forgotten, and along with Camille's collecting, she's keeping the Shaheen name alive through licensing of his prints for apparel and home.

I'd like to see some smart manufacturer bring back some of his designs as well, after seeing some of the line shots of 1970s designs I'd never seen before. Getting the prints right would be difficult though, because Shaheen was a master in creating the unique textiles that made his garments stand out.

Guests who do attend the fashion show, at $75 general and $55 for museum members, are invited to "dress vintage." How fun is that?

Exhibition designer Dave Kemble, with Bishop Museum vice-president of cultural collections Betty Lou Kam, said he was glad that experience from a prior showing of the collection led curators to recommend a specific manikin for the Shaheen dresses, often constructed to fit a voluptuous 1950s 36-24-36 figure.

I only have one Shaheen, that's probably from the 1980s. By then, styles were much simpler and casual and for me, more wearable. I just don't have that bombshell figure his earlier designs were built for. Not to mention his collectible 1940s to '50s bombshell and wiggle dresses regularly sell for $250 to $300 on eBay and Etsy.

But I had to laugh when I received the dress through eBay. As simple as the garment appears, it has a built in bra for a shelf bust that's pretty hard to fill!

I feel like the designer, who died in 2008, would enjoy knowing that women—in spite of their more stick-like or muscular 2012 bodies—still admire and covet his dresses. As Betty Lou Kam, vice president, cultural resources at the Bishop Museum said, staffers unpacking boxes of Shaheen garments were squealing over the designs, and putting imaginary dibs on them, saying, "This one's mine, so is this one ..."

On the 10th, there will also be gallery tours, a screening of "Blue Hawaii," educational activities for children and period-inspired food and drinks available for purchase.

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Bishop Museum is at 1525 Bernice St. Call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.

Black-and-white photos courtesy Camille Shaheen-Tunberg
Alfred Shaheen on the factory floor with models, including Beverly Noa in front.

Shaheen designs, including a little Pucci-esque dress, below, that would look current today.

Beverly Noa in a 1950s photo of one of Alfred Shaheen's dresses under the label Surf 'N Sand. Although he was known for this brand, along with other eponymous labels, had many lines his daughter didn't know about until she started researching his work. This dress would likely sell for 30 to 40 times its original price today.

Alfred Shaheen cared about brand image and sent detailed setup instructions to every department store that carried Shaheen's "East Meets West" designs. Their ranks included Bullock's, Macy's and Bergdorf Goodman.

Shaheen also published a booklet describing its silkscreen process, which was unique to the company because of the large size of the hand-done prints.