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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2017)
U.S.A. February 20, 2017 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7 Tadashi Shoji embraces love, ’70s youth style LOVE, LIBERATION, UNITY. Fashion de- signer Tadashi Shoji waves to the audience after un- veiling his latest collection during Fashion Week in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) By The Associated Press EW YORK — New York Fashion Week kicked off in the middle of a snow storm that had some of the swans donning parkas, snow boots, and ski caps instead of the usual sky-high heels and fashion finery. The crowds hopped over snow banks and splashed in slush as they turned out at more than a dozen shows that began the eight-day event featuring designers’ collections for fall and winter. Some stealthily swapped their messy boots and warm gear once they made it to their destinations, cramming boots and hats in bags as they took their seats. Ruth Sutcliffe, who works for a company that developed a scent for Tadashi Shoji, made her way into town by commuter train from Greenwich, Connecticut, then hopped a subway and trekked through snow on foot to take in the action backstage before his show. She changed into a dress and heels in a bathroom. “I walked in my Uggs and my fleece pants and my down feather coat,” she laughed. “It is what it is. You have to brave the cold. I’m not going to wear high heels in the snow and sludge.” N Fashion blogger Lindsi Lane, who lives in Manhattan, didn’t have far to go to make it safely inside fashion week’s official Clarkson Square venue, but she was weather-ready, big labels and all, in fluffy ear muffs, a warm cabled sweater and a fox fur vest to go with her skinny black Missoni patent leather pants and Louis Vuitton snow boots. “At the end of the day, like any true fashionista, we pull it together,” she said. “We gotta bring it.” Shoji wasn’t sweating the blizzard ahead of his 1960s and early ’70s collection of sensuous velvets and brocades inspired by youth revolutions around the world. He lives in Los Angeles, but his team was ready for snowmaggedon. Besides, the Japanese designer said in an interview backstage, all the swirling, white, wet stuff was “pretty, and traffic was so quiet. It’s good.” On the runway, Shoji worked in vibrant forest green, deep reds, and splashes of purple. Floor-length gowns with keyhole necklines had long bell sleeves, lace insets, and velvet ribbon detail. He and some of his models wore white bandannas, embracing an effort by industry watchers at the Business of Fashion to acknowledge President Donald Trump’s immigration ban under the moniker “#TiedTogether.” “More than 50 persons in my company are immigrants,” Shoji said. The message, Shoji said, was simple: love, liberation, unity. -- Leanne Italie Alexander Wang goes back to black, Siriano does desert BAD TO THE BONE. A model exhibits the fashion col- lection of Alexander Wang during Fashion Week in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) By The Associated Press EW YORK — Alexander Wang went back to black in a crumbling old theater in Harlem and Christian Siriano provided a pop of politics in a single t-shirt that read “People are People,” choosing instead to focus on a dreamy copper-colored collection of velvet and satin at New York Fashion Week. Among the day’s highlights: N Wang feeling bad to the bone This girl’s going to get it done. Wang’s models, including Bella Hadid and a freshly bobbed Kendall Jenner, wore mostly black on Wang’s raised runway at the abandoned RKO Hamilton Theatre, theatrical fog and a mosh-like pit setting the tone after a DJ and a couple hip-hop dancers entertained before the show. Hadid donned leather mini-shorts and a long-sleeve “Night of Treason” top, while other models walked in leather skinny pants, a few in checks and some in deep blue lingerie looks. Little silver balls provided edgy detailing on boots and seams for some. Others carried bags with chain-link straps. Jenner sis Kylie and on-again, off-again boyfriend Tyga, Ansel Elgort, Teyana Taylor, and A$AP Rocky were among Wang’s guests. The crowd, wending its way uptown through traffic from the usual lower Manhattan venues, was led to the dystopia through a narrow walkway with black-plastic lined walls past shelves of Peroni beer kegs. People were greeted by waiters offering glasses of the brew. Wang does know his way around a neckline. There were some in form-fitting black with bustier bodices and off-the-shoulder sleeves. A black jumpsuit went off the shoulder in long sleeves but also included thin dainty straps that showed off heavy chunk chokers in silver. He also knows how to cut a blazer, providing a few worthy of work or the club, though his tousled-haired models may need to pull out the straightening iron before heading to the office. -- Leanne Italie w Siriano’s windswept copper, luxe velvet The designer said he was inspired in part for this fall collection by beehive sand formations in Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. The shapes he was referring to were created by wind, providing a layered effect that impacted his silhouettes and a fiery copper color that dominated. From the park, he said in a backstage interview: “We took everything. We took colors, we took textures. I felt like when I was there I literally felt like I was in a dream.” His setting: The Grand Ballroom of New York’s storied Plaza Hotel. Some of his guests were treated to box seats above his rows of chairs. Mega-model Karolina Kurkova was among his walkers, while Juliette Lewis and Janet Mock were among his front-row guests. Considering today’s contentious political climate, Siriano said, “I think it was important to kind of take everybody out of their element and just be in a dream.” Last season, Siriano made a point of mixing all shapes and sizes among his models. Many of the same plus-size models walked this time around as well. He showed gold-and-black velvet looks with bustiers and Victorian sleeves. A strapless dress had gold crystal tassels and a maroon bell-sleeve gown was fringed. He cut trousers wide in metallic copper and added a touch of faux fur on wool coats. Among his desert tones was a touch of mauve and coral. Siriano’s “People are People” t-shirt was about as overtly political as he got. The black top was paired with a long, pinkish satin skirt slit high on one side. The thing that matters to Siriano, as a gay man who married just last year, is this: “We have to do something to make sure that we’re all comfortable in our lives,” he said. -- Leanne Italie and Nicole Evatt My Turn: A history of exclusion and resistance Continued from page 6 came together during the Los Angeles riots in 1992 to create one of the largest ever peaceful demonstrations by Asian Americans. According to the Los Angeles Times, an estimated 30,000 people, mostly Korean Americans, showed support for merchants affected by the riots and called for reconciliation and an end to the fighting. Further, Crossing East told the stories of people who were not passive victims, who took action by organizing and protesting mistreat- ment. In the final hour of the series, listeners heard about Japanese Americans — once imprisoned in internment camps during World War II — who came to the aid of South Asians and Middle Easterners who were unjustly detained after September 11, 2001. Our producer, Robynn Takayama, interviewed Yuri Kochiyama, a civil-rights activist since the 1960s, who organized vigils against racial profiling after 9/11. The series also highlighted the 1998 New York City (NYC) Taxi Strike by South-Asian and Middle-Eastern drivers who fought against unjust fines directed solely at them. More recently, NYC taxi drivers staged an organized protest to the executive order signed on January 27, 2017 that banned travel from seven mostly Muslim countries. Despite losing a lot of revenue, they made a statement by temporarily halting rides to the airport. Asian-American activists and community members have also taken active stands and protested against the January 27 executive order, which affected Lawful Permanent Residents (holders of “green cards”); people travelling on student, work, medical, and other visas; immigrants and refugees; and others. In a ruling upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the ban was temporarily blocked and the government suspended its enforce- ment. History teaches us where we’ve been and can hopefully inform a better future. As human beings we want to learn, adapt, and move forward. We remember our past so we don’t repeat it. Equally it’s important to stand up and speak out against unfair treatment. Hopefully history can help us realize that policies directed at people because of their race, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, or sexual orientation have to remain in the past and not be part of our future. To learn more about Crossing East, visit <www.crossingeast.org>. People vaccinated during hepatitis A outbreak need second shot HONOLULU (AP) — Hawai‘i’s Department of Health is reminding people who were vaccinated during last year’s hepatitis A outbreak that it’s time for a second dose. The department said data shows there were about 90,000 hepatitis A vaccines administered in Hawai‘i between July and November. In August, state health officials identified frozen scallops imported from the Philippines served at a sushi chain as the probable source of the outbreak. The outbreak sickened hundreds of people. State epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park warns that outbreaks continue to occur worldwide and that a local outbreak could happen again. She says while one dose of the vaccine provides good protection, two doses are necessary for lasting immunity. The second dose must be administered six months after the first one. Give blood. To schedule a blood donation call 1-800-G IVE-LIFE or visit HelpSaveALife.org. TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA n Polo Polo’s “Talking Story” column will return soon.