Honolulu Community College fashion student Ron Kayano will be among the young designers showing their creations Sunday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Terra Wight wears his punk ensemble.
Students team up
on eclectic show
Student fashion shows can be among the most entertaining due to the diversity and eccentricity of youth, unsullied by commercial interests. This year's showing by the students of Honolulu Community College is no exception.
"An International Affair" is the theme of the luncheon show beginning at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel Coral Ballroom.
On view will be more than 120 original creations ranging from aloha to street to evening wear, along with lines dubbed "China Doll," "Diamonds in the Sand," "VIP," etc., created by graduating seniors to express their creativity and interests.
For many of the students, the garments reflect their own lifestyles. Senior Tavia Perallon came up with a line of ruffled Latin-flavored dresses and separates to reflect her love for dancing salsa. Her pieces range from theatrical apparel, with pants slit and embellished with ruffles, to skirts with a tamer set of streamers that would be appropriate for a dinner party.
Jay Sario came up with a streetwise collection of deconstructed frocks, tops and gladiator-style pleated mini skirts "for girls who are confidant, who don't worry about what people say.
Marybeth Jenkins, from left, Kate Brown and Tavia Perallon model designs "with a twist," by Suzie Vogler.
"That's how I dress -- very eclectic," said the senior, who will be leaving after graduation for San Francisco, where people are more likely to dress up than in Honolulu.
Kaliko Fukumoto might fit Sario's description of the confidant girl, if she weren't already designing her own playful, polka-dotted line.
"I like funky, happy things. I like clothes that emphasize the boobies and really short skirts. I like extremes, either really short or really long, never medium because I don't want to be like everybody else."
Ideal clients for the petite pixie's corseted tops and ballerina skirts would be extroverts and such Amazon women as Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra. Fukumoto counts designer Betsy Johnson, known for her exuberant designs, among her role models.
"My mom calls me her rebellious child. I wear things that regular people wouldn't think of matching," Fukumoto said. "My dad always looks at my clothes and says, 'What were you thinking?' "
As usual, there are garments to suit a variety of figures and Sina Samuela addresses plus-size princesses with her Ghetto Phat line for sizes 18 to 24.
At size 22 to 24, Samuela said that like everyone else, she started designing for the smaller woman, but never felt enthusiastic about the sizing.
Noting that clothing options for women her size were limited, she put her heart into developed a line of career and evening dresses to show larger women there is life beyond peasant tops and T-shirts.
Not all follow a straight path to the designing life. Ron Kayano has sold Amway and worked as a tailor and plumber to pay his way through school.
While selling Amway, he was required to wear a suit at sales rallies, that Kayano thought of sewing his own suit. That never worked out, but through classes at Kuni Dry Goods, the Fashion Center Sewing School and designer Linda Iki, he found the process fun and challenging. He spent a couple of summers taking classes at Parsons School of Design in New York.
"I always exceled in art classes but with fashion my medium is a living canvas rather than a painting on a wall. I like to feel the enjoyment of the person wearing my garments."
Kayano's Black Swan line features theatrical, punk-rock inspired garments. Although he prefers creating dresses and gowns to men's suits, he may go back to trying to finish that suit, the project that got him started in fashion. "I know how to do it now," he said. "I just haven't had time to get to it."
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'An International Affair'
Where: Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom
When: From 11:30 a.m. Sunday
Tickets: $28, or $10 general and $5 students for standing room
Call: 845-9203
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