Mini totes bags are one of the trendy items lately. FDM student club, Stole Society, led by Masisa Kim (SS president) and five dedicated FDM student officers, had the 1st-semester event – making own mini totes—on September 30th, 2024. Over 22 participants from various majors had a rich learning experience at the Miller Design Lab. They learned how to use a machine and add lace trims and other embellishments, creating cute and fancy mini totes. This hands-on experience has surely enriched their skills and will motivate them for future events. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who generously donated fabrics and trims to FDM. We truly appreciate your support. Please check out @stolesociety for upcoming events and Stole workshops. 

By Minako McCarthy​

Andy Reilly, profession in FDM, gave a gallery talk at the Honolulu Museum of Art on June 8 as part of the Fashion Aloha exitigion gallery talks.  His talk, "Identity and Aloha Shirts" was the result of research he did on aesthetic preferences of aloha shirts by Hawaiian, Local, and haole men.  Dr. Reilly found that while Hawaiian and Local men select shirts that reflect the Hawaiian Islands accurately to identify themselves as not-tourists but as residents, haole men upon moving to Hawai`i go through a process of learning about shirts and change their aesthetic preferences to demonstrate they are the good haole.  During the talk, model Makana Gomes modeled different shirts as he talked about them.  Dr. Reilly will be giving this talk at an upcoming symposium in NYC in November.  

By Andy Reilly​

The FDM 495: Capstone Portfolio class had the great opportunity to talk story with two local fashion designers and entrepreneurs, Summer Shiigi (Ten Tomorrow) and Rumi Roberston (Rumi Murakami label). The two designers discussed their background information, their triumphs, trials, and tribulations in owning a small business. The fashion gurus encouraged our soon-to-be graduates to ask questions in regards to the fashion industry and in owning a small business in this current business climate, what to expect after graduation, as well as what advice they can share with new fashion graduates in a very competitive field. The FDMseniors were thrilled that the designers disclosed their experiences and insights and are grateful to have met with Summer and Rumi. We are truly appreciative to have Summer and Rumi’s unyielding support all these years. They have been the best mentors to FDM students in our internship program, as well as very active FDM Advisory Board members. Mahalo, Summer and Rumi!

By Abby Cristi-Kim