Fresh Look

The UH fashion show launches students into the real world

No matter how many times I've covered student fashion shows, it never gets any easier. How does anyone get to know the work of 11 designers all at once, as in the case of the seniors at the University of Hawaii, about to stage their annual fashion show, "Absolute Fashion: All Bottled Up," April 27 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

The easy, expedient route is to cover the themed showcases highlighting class projects. This year the themes were "Barbie," "Go Green" clothing made of recycled goods, and "Around the World" global fashion, but such challenges are not usually a good indication of the designers' actual strengths and vision.

The annual fashion show is a venue for students to gain experience in production while giving the community an opportunity to see the work being done in the school's apparel, product, design and merchandising program.

And, like it or not, it's usually where students face up to the reality outside the hallowed halls of higher education, including meeting the media.

The hope of all involved: equal coverage for all.

The reality: constraints on time and space, and as made clear on "Project Runway," the way some clothes, designers and ideas leap out at you more than others.

So, to the graduating class of 2008, consider this your first lesson in dealing with the media en route to success:

1. Try the gimmick. When I received the portraits of the designers, one girl stood out. Virginia Paresa wore a swan dress she made one Halloween, patterned after Björk's famous Academy Awards swan outfit. A sense of humor is highly prized.

2. The gimmick might get your foot in the door, but you still need talent. I appreciated Paresa's intellectual approach to design, which starts not with imagining another pretty frock, but with lifestyles of the people who might wear them.

Her collection, "Tune In, Turn On, and Get Dressed!" was inspired by New York's street style of the psychedelic era and the writings of Timothy Leary. In her collection are contemporary jeans and tops, mixed with hand-knit and crocheted elements capturing the era's hippie do-it-yourself spirit.

"I liked the freedom they had at that time," she said. "I'm not promoting the drug culture, but I liked the attitude they had, when everything was experimental and they were pushing boundaries."

3. Push boundaries. Minako McCarthy's designs caught my eye because of their extensive, complicated embellishment. A graduate of Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College, whose alumni include Yohji Yamamoto and McCarthy's classmate Jun Takahashi ("He's famous, I'm not," she noted), McCarthy incorporates much of her couture and lingerie pattern-making experience in her designs, many of which use fabric to create the lingerie illusion of flesh under surface designs.

"American fashion is much more simple to make," she said. "Japan is closer to Paris, with more detail, more function."

4. Appeal to the bottom line. I headed straight for Lauren Hayashibara's rack because it was so retail ready, with styles any boutique manager would be happy to have. Although her "Shine" collection is casual, resort-oriented, she avoided the basic sundress and came up with some elegant and clever twists to basics befitting upscale venues.