Rebounding from last year’s small-scale outdoor event with COVID-19 restrictions, “SuperSonic” arrives with a resounding boom!  This year’s 57th UHM fashion show boasts nine senior and twelve junior design students showcasing their creations on April 30, 2023 at the Hawaii Convention Center (tentatively). 

Each senior will present their unique collections consisting of 5-6 inspired looks, including the garment, make-up and runway music. Twelve junior designers contribute to their own group interpretation of the MET GALA 2023 theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” 

The Fashion Show Production class plans and organizes the entire event from budgeting to staging and anticipate 300 or more guests to attend. The students associate the word “supersonic” with the supernatural impact that is left behind. They explain that the term reflects the great efforts of this year’s senior class and the show will “create a lasting impact on not just the audience, but for the designers as well, as many of them will pave their way into the fashion world after graduation.” Details can be found on the FDM and Fashion Show Instagram accounts: @fdm_uhm and @uhmfashionshow. –Minako McCarthy & Jacqueline Tani

 Dr. Ju-Young Kang and Dr. Shu Hwa Lin of the FDM program won the Paper of Distinction award for the culture track at the 2022 annual ITAA conference for their paper entitled “3D Virtual Technology in Costume Museum Exhibition: Qing Dynasty.” This project aimed to create a digital costume museum platform that incorporated 3D virtual technology. This project was based on the authentic costumes at the UH historic costume museum. Our UH historic costume museum is one of Hawaii's largest historical and ethnographic costumes and textile collections. We will continue to develop a 3D platform for diverse collections of the UH costume museum. To learn more UHM Costume Collection, watch a video. This is Dr. Kang's third Paper of Distinction award since she’s been at the CTAHR/UH—she previously won this award in 2014 and 2017 (consumer behavior track) at the ITAA conference. Also, this is Dr. Lin’s second Paper. of Distinction award —she previously won this award in 2020 (sustainability/social responsibility track) at ITAA. Congratulations!

Four holokū from the Historic Costume Collection are on display through January 2023. When missionaries arrive on the Islands in the early 1800s, Queen Kalākua women asked the missionary women to make her a dress in their style. The women sewed a loose-fitting dress using woven fabric. Eventually, a train would be added and the garment named the holokū, translated as a loose dress made of foreign fabric. The four holokū on display in Miller Hall include a 1920s floral print and a 1998 vivid orange creation; 1950s eyelet lace dress made in a Mother Hubbard design with images printed images of Hawaiian women; and 1970s Mamo Howell with cowl neckline and printed with shell lei.