RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Models paraded during the finale of the Dior Pret-a-Porter 2007 Cruise Collection show Saturday, one of several World Festival events held throughout the week.
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Fab finery
Ala Moana Center's World Festival ended last night with the fashion event of the year, a party for 2,500 who came to view all that is fabulous.
There were several more private parties within the party in which invitees were welcome to peruse new spring and resort collections, as well as new handbag offerings from the likes of Dior, Dooney & Bourke, and Bally. They sipped champagne and noshed on caviar, filet mignon and other food groups of the rich and/or famous -- enjoying the 21st-century equivalent of a Marie Antoinette moment. If it was cake they wanted, there was plenty to choose from at Escada's elegant dessert buffet.
In-store demonstrations of luxury craftsmanship began Monday at Hermès and Louis Vuitton, with the partying starting Wednesday night with an InStyle "Secrets of Style" soiree at DKNY, where special guest Yunjin Kim of "Lost" showed up in a chic DKNY black-knit tube dress and leather wrap belt.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Yunjin Kim of "Lost," right, chatted with Eunja Chang and posed for pictures with guests at the "Secrets of Style" benefit for Diamond Head Theatre on Wednesday night at DKNY.
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Dior was the place to be on Saturday, where a runway show of its breezy Pret-a-Porter Cruise 2007 Collection gave the cell-phone and digi-cam paparazzi a shot at Shiho, the most photographed model in Japan.
The collection was breathtaking in its simplicity, in subdued neutral colors from seashell and seafoam green to icy watermelon. Skirts had the sheen of metallic threads, while leather jackets also bore a metallic sheen. Not shine, mind you. That would have been so 2005.
Patrick Gey of Fendi went out of his way last night to top last year's gala. With the help of event designer Dean Christopher, he invited guests to experience a bit of New York and Paris through the theater of "Paparazzi la Foto di Moda," with photographers committing each of the boutique's Studio 54 moments to digital or film memory. A Simply Exquisite limo was also dressed in the Fendi logo to deliver Shiho to the festival's red carpet.
Especially in Japan, images of Shiho or other celebs wearing or carrying a particular brand of merchandise have the proven power to move hundreds of Fendi Spy Bags or Chanel J12 watches.
In America, the impulse for independence prevents us from following the crowd too closely, but when the clothes and purses look this good, it's hard to resist.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Sean Watabayashi, director of Chanel at Ala Moana Center, posed for a photo with Japanese model Shiho during a party Friday at Chanel to mark the debut of its exotic skins handbag collection.
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JOHN BERGER / JBERGER@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Escada boutique was transformed into a cafe Friday afternoon, where guests enjoyed lunch and modeling of Escada's 2007 Spring/Summer collection, including this black-and-white dress worn by Raena Cassidy.
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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Japan model Shiho wore a pleated silk chiffon "Chelsea" gown in watermelon ($7,100) with sea-green stamped python sandals ($595) at Dior's runway show Saturday afternoon.
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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Chanel's Anna Swope adjusted Ronald Cheung's black-and-silver Chanel jacket at the Chanel party. Cheung's ensemble also included Dior Homme jeans and spectator shoes, and a Prada belt. Party-goers felt free to mix labels all week.
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