Indashio a force of nature
POSTED: Thursday, December 03, 2009
It's hard enough for a designer to achieve recognition in one city, let alone parachute into three or four, but when you're hell-bent on world domination, why not spread the love?
That can only mean one thing: He's baaack!
He, would be Indashio, who greets me with a call Monday morning at Restaurant Row, saying, “;I'm just getting out of my car. I'm wearing lime green. You can't miss me!”;
He's also wearing a gold shirt painted with green around the collar and up the front, the warm, sunny colors an extension of his bright, oversized, energetic personality.
He staged a lively show at the Honolulu Design Center last January, and is returning to present his latest “;Jet Set”; Spring 2010 collection Saturday night at Level 4. The collection debuted Sept. 11 during New York Fashion Week and has been on a tour of five cities since then, most recently in Chicago.
INDASHIO FASHION SHOW
Also featuring Valerie Joseph and Zhan Vi » Place: Level 4, Royal Hawaiian Center
» Time: Red carpet arrivals from 8 p.m. Saturday
» Tickets: $20 general and $50 VIP
» RSVP: Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
» Note: Indashio will also be at Valerie Joseph, Ala Moana Center, from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow to introduce his limited-edition Lip Tar.
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That doesn't mean that every city sees the same show.
“;I always make it new, I try to pick up the local influence,”; said Indashio, who arrived a week ahead of his show to tend to details on the ground, including model casting. Most of the models have been chosen, but a final open call for new faces takes place at 7 p.m. today at Oceans808.
“;For Hawaii, the models will probably have flowers in their hair. And there will be at least two dresses that I didn't get to show in New York. There's always a missing dress. I had loaned one to a friend to wear and forgot about it.”;
I thought I spotted some of Hawaii's influence in beachwear and sarongs that are part of the collection, and he said, “;Hawaii is in there. The whole collection is inspired by my world travels to London, Johannesburg, Antigua. It has a little bit of all those places. It still has a Miami feel, plus New York, the boldness of it.
“;It was created for the ultimate jet-set girl. It has everything a fabulous girl would want to take on vacation—swimwear, a day dress, the perfect evening dress, gold linen shorts—everything that would fit in a little suitcase, ready to go anywhere.”;
AT 25, the self-taught designer has come a long way since launching his line in Miami in 2003. Two years later, he was showing during New York Fashion Week, and scored a hit on such reality series as MTV's “;8th and Ocean”; and “;Made,”; in which he helped a plus-size woman realize her dream of modeling. Next came VH1's “;Sew Good”; boutique project, and winning VH1's “;Glam God”; competition that had stylists competing to get their clients best-dressed status.
The designer also created, with makeup artist Katie Pellegrino, a saturated lip gloss, Indashio Lip Tar, a fiery, pinked coral, in support of his Spring/Summer 2010 collection. The limited-edition shade is designed to suit pale to dark skin, with his multicultural clients in mind. They include Kim Kardashian, Nicky Hilton, Vivica Fox, Lil' Kim, Christina Milian, Vanessa Carlton and Tyra Banks.
Lip Tar can be purchased for $12.50 at occ.makeup.com, or meet Indashio at the Valerie Joseph boutique from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, when he will be introducing the gloss.
Indashio also has another television project in the works, with details to come in spring 2010. He's come a long way in nearly two years, his design sense showing growth from the draped and tacked down creations he showed here last time. He said it's helped him to work with women like Kardashian and Fox, with curves that must be reckoned with.
“;You can put anything on a size 2 model and it'll look great,”; he said. “;I've had to learn what works with different body types.”;
That doesn't mean he's beyond draping and pinning on the fly. If you want to know the secret of his success, it's fearlessly diving in and going with the flow.
“;Did you see the green toga-ish dress during Fashion Week? I created that on the spot when one of my models didn't have a dress,”; he said. “;I do that with my friends all the time when we're going out to clubs and they've got nothing to wear. I'll just start draping and pinning.
“;I always try to think positive. I believe in the law of attraction. I'm an advocate of 'The Secret'; I believe it, practice it and it has never failed.
“;I ain't never stopping until I get this baby where I want it to be.”;