Hui Makaala will hold its 50th annual Scholarship Luncheon and Fashion Show on Sunday, July 21, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Coral Ballroom. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Hui Makaala will present Kanna Yamauchi’s YOKANG designs from Okinawa. YOKANG outfits are known for their traditional bingata hand-dyeing technique on modern casual and formal garments.
Kanna Yamauchi was born in Naha City, Okinawa. She was greatly influenced by her mother, Mitsuko Yamauchi, a fashion pioneer who featured bingata in her Western-style clothing designs. Kanna studied design in France for a year and then returned to her native Okinawa to study dressmaking. She has received numerous awards for her design work in Okinawa, as well as in mainland Japan.
The fashion show will also feature works by local designer Sonny Ching from his Ho‘ololi collection. Ching is also the award-winning kumu hula (hula teacher) of Hālau Nā Mamo o Pu‘uanahulu. His fabric designs are modern expressions of Hawaiian culture and heritage which are accentuated by fine silver jewelry pieces from his Paradisus jewelry collection.
The silent auction and boutique sales will begin at 9 a.m., and the ballroom doors will open at 11:30. Lunch will begin at noon with door-prize drawings and entertainment, followed by the fashion show.
Hui Makaala, an Okinawan organization, was formed to promote Okinawan culture and the “Uchinanchu spirit” by awarding scholarships to college-bound Hawai‘i students. The students must be involved in Okinawan culture or the Okinawan community and have contributed to Hawai‘i’s multiethnic community.
Individual seats are $85 per person, with corporate tables (10 seats per table) also available, ranging from $850 to $1,350. For reservations, email Karen Shishido at karenlani@gmail.com or call 551-7868 or 988-1471. Proceeds will benefit Hui Makaala’s scholarship fund.
