U.S.A.
September 17, 2018
Anna Sui opens a grand bazaar
at New York Fashion Week
Los Angeles Japanese-
American museum receives
$525,000 gift from member
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Japanese American
National Museum in Los Angeles says it has received a
gift of more than $525,000 from a member who died last
year.
The downtown museum announced that the donation
from Setsuko Oka will go toward exhibitions and
programs focused on Japanese artistic and cultural
heritage in the United States.
City News Service said a plaque honoring Oka’s parents
also will be placed at the museum, per the terms of her
bequest.
Oka became a member in 1993, a year after the museum
was founded.
Its exhibitions cover more than 130 years of Japanese-
American history through artifacts, textiles, art, photo-
graphs, and oral histories.
q
About 1,000 workers lose
Colorado Springs call center jobs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — About 1,000
workers have lost jobs in Colorado Springs since
December 31 as some of the city’s call centers have moved
operations elsewhere, including overseas.
However, The Gazette has reported that the cuts come
as other centers are expanding there despite a tight labor
market.
The federal government provides training and financial
help for workers who lose their jobs as a result of imports
or a shift in production or services to a foreign country.
State and local officials filed petitions for help for two of
the companies, StarTek and Wide Open West.
According to the petitions, the eliminated StarTek jobs
were being moved to the Philippines and possibly
Honduras and the jobs at Wide Open West were moving to
Nicaragua and Alabama.
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THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7
By Gina Abdy
The Associated Press
EW YORK — Ann Sui opened a grand bazaar as
she dreamt of an unspoiled paradise at New York
Fashion Week.
She was inspired, in part, by the 1955 Vincente Minnelli
film Kismet.
“One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when she
went shopping and she was walking through this
beautiful marketplace and that is my favorite thing on
earth to do,” Sui told The Associated Press of her the show.
“In every city I travel to, I want to find out where’s the flea
market.”
The vibe, she said, was wanderlust, an escapist fantasy.
Set designer Jerry Schwartz created her shopping
experience for guests, including filmmaker Francis Ford
Coppola, his filmmaker daughter Sofia Coppola, and
Naomi Campbell.
For her spring collection, Sui chose bright colors and
bold patterns in silk dresses, shorts, and loose-fitting
pantsuits. Many looks had matching turbans or floppy
hats. Models walked in bright colored sneakers and
sandals with lace socks. The final look, worn by Gigi
Hadid, was a gold glittery V-neck dress that was sheer
from the waist to ankle.
“I was inspired by the way Tony Duquette did the sets in
Kismet, where he kept everything very neutral and gold,
which is what we did with our set. And what popped were
the color clothing and what people were wearing or objects
they were finding in the market,” Sui said.
Shapes were sporty in luxe metallic brocades. Glittery
party dresses were paired with the aforementioned
anklets and sneakers. She made use of Jacquard
fisherman vests, oversized embellished biker jackets,
pinup girl bathing suits, satin cowboy shirts, and
Polynesian jumpsuits.
Lots of looks were trimmed in fishscale sequins and
ombre fringe.
“I just love the idea of first being artisanal, but also
creating a fantasy,” Sui said. “So that’s what I was trying
N
SPRING COLLECTION. A model walks the runway at the Anna Sui
spring 2019 show during New York Fashion Week. For her spring collec-
tion, Sui chose bright colors and bold patterns in silk dresses, shorts, and
loose-fitting pantsuits. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)
to do tonight, was to create this fantasy of idyllic shopping,
of a dream world of shopping.”
Sofia Coppola made a purchase, to be picked up after the
show with other buyers.
“I love to see Anna’s shows,” she said. “She’s a good
friend of mine and I always love to see what she does. And
this one is unique.”
Kazuto Ioka wins comeback bout, Estrada triumphs at Superfly 3
By Greg Beacham
The Associated Press
I
NGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kazuto Ioka got back on the
road to a fourth world title with the win he craved in
the arena that drew him out of retirement.
Ioka returned to boxing with an impressive U.S. debut
in a wide unanimous decision over McWilliams Arroyo,
and Juan Francisco Estrada grinded out a decision over
Felipe Orucuta in the main event of Superfly 3.
Filipino super flyweights Donnie Nietes and Aston
Palicte also fought to a draw in a bout for the vacant World
Boxing Organization (WBO) 115-pound title at the
Forum.
Ioka’s victory in his comeback bout highlighted the
third edition of the fight series created by promoter Tom
Loeffler to showcase the world’s top boxers from the
oft-neglected super flyweight division and thereabouts.
Ioka (23-1), a three-division champion while fighting in
his native Japan, returned from a brief retirement and a
17-month ring absence with a complete performance
against Arroyo (17-4), the tested Puerto Rican veteran.
“I think Ioka, his star is shining bright now,” Loeffler
said. “He got his opportunity on HBO, and for a
three-division champion moving up and taking on Arroyo,
who was punching really hard, I think he was the most
impressive fighter of the night.”
Ioka quit boxing last winter, but returned to the gym a
few months later after attending the Superfly 2 show in
February. He was enticed back to the sport by the lively
atmosphere and elite 115-pound talent on display inside
the famed Forum.
Ioka had an active jab and ready combinations from the
opening bell, and he knocked down Arroyo in the final
seconds of the third round with a right hand squarely on
the jaw. Arroyo rallied in the middle rounds before Ioka
reasserted his dominance down the stretch.
“I’m very happy with the performance and very
appreciative of my opportunity to fight in America,” Ioka
said. “The atmosphere was fantastic. This is exactly as I
hoped it would be, and I can’t wait to come back and fight
on Superfly 4 against the best in the division.”
One judge scored it 99-90 for Ioka, and the other two
favored him 97-92. Ioka connected with 32 percent of his
797 punches, and his sharp jab landed 31 percent of the
time. Arroyo connected with only 22 percent of his shots.
“I had high expectations for him, but he fought an
impressive fight,” Loeffler said. “I was really impressed
with his left hook to the body. He was really slowing down
Arroyo with the body shots.”
Ioka returned to the sport with the goal of becoming
Japan’s first four-division world champion. He could get
that shot soon after this victory put him in position for a
New audiobook features Joe Biden conversations
NEW YORK (AP) — An upcoming
audiobook will feature former U.S.
Vice President Joe Biden talking
about his late son Beau with such
interviewers as Stephen Colbert,
Constance Wu, and Aaron Sorkin.
Conversations
With
Joe
is
scheduled for release on October 16
by Audible, the publisher and
distributor owned by Amazon.com.
The recordings are taken from
Biden’s “American Promise” tour
from last year, when he was
promoting his memoir Promise Me,
Dad. He centered the book on his
reflections on Beau Biden, who died
in 2015 of brain cancer.
Audible announced that Conversa-
tions With Joe will feature Biden’s
thoughts on his son’s life and his
family’s determination to honor his
memory. Beau Biden was an Iraq
War veteran who later served as
Delaware’s attorney general.
COMEBACK BOUT. Super flyweight Kazuto Ioka, left, of Japan,
spars with his trainer, Ismael Salas, at the Wild Card West gym in Santa
Monica, California. Ioka ended his brief retirement to make his U.S. debut
against McWilliams Arroyo, a tested Puerto Rican veteran, at the Forum.
Ioka’s comeback bout featured a complete performance. (AP Photo/Greg
Beacham)
shot at the World Boxing Council (WBC) 115-pound belt
held by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, whose next bout is in
October in his native Thailand.
Estrada also has a case for a rematch with Sor
Rungvisai, who kicked off the Superfly series in style last
September with a stunning knockout of Roman
“Chocolatito” Gonzalez. Sor Rungvisai beat Estrada in a
thriller at Superfly 2.
Estrada (37-3) made his name with an upset victory
over Carlos Cuadras on the first Superfly show, but he had
a tough time with Orucuta (36-5), a 32-year-old veteran
making his U.S. debut.
The fight built to a fantastic seventh round with
back-and-forth action. An instant before the final bell,
Estrada landed a right hand that forced Orucuta to put his
glove on the canvas, but no knockdown was called.
Two judges scored it 117-111 for Estrada, and a third
had it 118-110.
The card’s sole title fight was less entertaining. Nietes
(41-1-5) appeared to have a slight edge for most of his 12
rounds against Palicte (24-2-1), but one judge apiece
scored it for each fighter, and the third had a 114-114
draw.
Nietes landed 37 percent of his punches, while Palicte
threw 307 more punches, but connected with only 14.9
percent of them.
“Of course I won the fight,” Nietes said. “I’m very
disappointed. I deserve the title. I handled his height, I
hurt him, and I controlled the fight.”
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