Kaila Hawai'i

In the web chatter that surrounded Francisco Costa’s recently debuted Spring 2010 collection for Calvin Klein, several references were made to how Costa had revamped Calvin Klein’s famous t-shirt inspired collection from 1994—the same collection that launched Kate Moss as the designer’s muse.

In one of my recent jaunts on YouTube, I happened to find by chance a segment from Elsa Klensch’s Style featuring the same collection. Watching the clip was a flash back into my youth in the early nineties. This was before the Internet explosion, when we all had to actually read the newspaper or watch television to find out was going on. Klensch’s distinctive accent was overly nostalgic for me. Her voice took me immediately back to being a teenager, sitting in a living room in west O‘ahu and watching flashes of an intriguing, glamorous world, as far away from New York as one could possibly be.

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Tags: Calvin Klein, Elsa Klensch, fashion, Francisco Costa, Jenny Shimizu, Kate Moss, minimalism, New York City, nineties, spring collection, t-shirt

On what would’ve been a mellow Wednesday Honolulu evening, the Kaila Hawai‘i team and friends went out on the town  this past November 4 to mark the launch of Project P.E.P., a special collaboration between the house of Jimmy Choo (known for its high glam shoes and handbags) and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The night was smashing fun with drinks and nibbles from Pearl at Ala Moana and retro grooves. We were happy to see friends from local businesses, arts organizations, and non-profits, including The Place, Animo Kingdom, Hawai‘i State Ballet, the Moana Surfrider, and the University of Hawai‘i. A special nod goes to Cora Spearman of The Place Honolulu for her rocking fashions for the evening, which just serendipitously happened to match the Jimmy Choo Fall 2009 collection. (We’re thinking specifically of the Odette handbag and the Cara clutch . You just had to see her tights to understand.)

Kaila Hawai‘i sends out special mahalo a nui to Joelle Hashimoto, Rose Horikawa, Desmond Kāne Balbin, Christine Smith, and Garrett Segawa of the  Jimmy Choo Ala Moana team for a fantastic evening and supporting a great cause! Select pieces from Project P.E.P. are still available at the Ala Moana store for a limited time. (Browse collection pieces of the Jimmy Choo website.)

In the photo set above:

1. Joelle Hashimoto, Jimmy Choo; Cora Spearman, owner -  The Place, and guests
2. Friends of Jimmy Choo

In the set above:

1. Holly Kim and Erin Stickley
2. Elegant daughter and mother pair Nicole Love, Common Cause, and Kazuko Love, Japan-America Society Hawaii
3. Jragen Moki Anderson, owner – Animo Kingdom; Raquel Avila; Jessi Bruce
4. Zachary Tomashosky and guest

In the set above:

1. Kai Andersen, founder of Kaila Hawai’i; Cora Spearman, The Place
2. Céline Labrador, Matt Cavert, Lesley Ann Culver, Holly Kim
3. Friends from Hawai’i State Ballet
4. Desmond Kāne Balbin, Jimmy Choo; Sumi Omatsu, Moana Lani Spa – Moana Surfrider Hotel

Tags: Ala Moana, Animo Kingdom, benefit, charity, Common Cause, Elton John AIDS Foundation, fashion, handbags, HIV/AIDS, Jimmy Choo, luxury retail, Pearl, Project P.E.P., shoes, The Place

Though we left New York City some time ago, seeing the goings on at New York Fashion Week, via the World Wide Web, is leaving us a bit nostalgic for that unmistakable urban flair. We’re once again in love with grande dame Diane Von Furstenberg, or DVF. While we’re the wrong gender to sport her clothes, we’re hooked on her reinvention of civilizations past. (Just listen to her pronunciation of the word “antiquity” when she’s being interviewed by Tim Banks on Style.com, and you’ll get the  point.) Of course, there’s also the hot soundrack. Would’ve thought of combining Madonna’s “Erotica” and Debussy?

But the show we’re really waiting to see in full is Francisco Costa’s 2010 Spring collection for Calvin Klein, which just debuted this afternoon in New York. His 2009 Spring Show, with its architectural pleats and folds, made us think of a 21^st century Jackie Onassis as well as Merce Cunningham choreography. The latter association arose not necessarily from the actual designs, but from the sheer angularity and modernity they embodied and the accompanying musical combination of cacophony and elegance.

In retrospect, it’s interesting to compare Costa’s work with the founder of the house whose house he was entrusted with, Calvin Klein himself. Looking back at his Spring 1999 and 2000 collections, we are awed by the sheer simplicity and minimalism of it. While some of the pieces seem commonplace today, a few are just stunningly simple. Light, ethereal but still utterly seductive, the last few dresses from the 2000 show still leave us breathless. While Costa has upheld the minimalism that defines the Calvin Klein aesthetic, there is progressively more play on structure and form.

Calvin Klein – Spring 2000

Calvin Klein (by Francisco Costa) – Spring 2009

In 2003, a feature article on Klein in the New York Times magazine proposed that Klein, while reinventing fashion into a powerful attitude, did not add a distinctive signature look to the field. Costa, however, seems to be carving a definitive niche for himself. While the look of crisply folded paper in a shimmering white may please the general masses, it certainly leaves a bold impression for those that 19^th French novelist Stendhal once called “the happy few” of which Kaila Hawai‘i is thankfully included.

Tags: Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg, fashion week, Francisco Costa, spring collection

6 pm, June 12, 2009

Kaka‘ako, Kona, O‘ahu-a Lua

The past few weeks has been hectic for the Kaila Hawai‘i team as we look for a new live-in combo work space in what we’ll call the “Honolulu metro area” (now, how many times have you heard that expression?) on a shoestring budget. The frequent result has been frazzled nerves, late-night cocktails (martinis or sidecars have been the preferred liquid remedy), and extra helpings of eye cream come 7 am. (more…)

Tags: "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Beautiful, Bonnie Tyler, books, Borders, Honolulu, Makiki, Satura Cakes, Sex and the City

We’re enjoying the sounds of Thievery Corporation’s on their latest release, Radio Retaliation. We’ve been fans for a decade now, and the disc is a real standout. It’s one of the rare instances—at least, as we far back as we can remember—where downtempo chill has managed to successfully take on political commentary (just take a listen to “The Numbers Game” or “33^rd Degree”). But our favorite track is perhaps the least political (instrumentals aside, of course). “Sweet Tides”, with vocals courtesy of Loulou, is one of those songs that make for a perfect dreamy interlude (more…)

Tags: kauwela - summer, Mazzy Star, Thievery Corporation

The summer heat is on on O‘ahu (almost 90 this week!). So, though we’ve been stuck in front of the computer,  we’ve been thinking of running into the water at one of our favorite beaches, Keawa‘ula (Yokes),  Mākaha,  Ka‘ōhao (Lanikai), or Kailua (see image below, circa 2005). Of course, covered with sea spray or nice and dry, we like to keep our style in check, even ma kahakai, at the beach. You never know how you might run into!

So we’re in love with the Waiuli Surf Shorts from Sig Zane in beautiful Hilo, Hawai‘i Island. They’re inispired by the surf shorts of decades past, made with pure cotton in Sig’s signature patterns with a coconut button enclosure. Five designs are available, but we’re particular partial to the Nightfall Uluwehi Keaukaha design (see above). But the Chocolate Pu‘umanawale‘a shorts are quite classy too. Hū ke kaila ! Now if we could get away from our desks and learn how to he‘enalu (surf)…

Tags: Hawai'i Island, Hilo, lole / clothes, Lole wāwae pōkole he‘enalu / Surf shorts, Sig Zane

Kahi (The Place) : Waikīkī, Kona, O‘ahu-a-Lua

Fashion meets art at the grand finale of June’s  fantastic Maoli Arts Month. MAMO’s Wearable Art showcase will be held at the Sheraton Waikīkī on Saturday, May 30, 2009, starting at 5:30 pm. (more…)

Tags: MAMo, Maoli Arts Month