ISLAND STYLE
The fabric maven of Hawai'i fashion
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Ruth Kerr, a fixture in island fabric circles, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award Friday for her work in the fashion industry.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Made in Hawai'i with Aloha 5:30 9 p.m. Friday Tapa Ballroom, Hilton Hawaiian Village Featuring the 16th Annual Governor's Fashion Awards Show Tickets: $60 Reservations: 592-4200, or fax 592-4202 |
Kerr is not a high-profile fashion designer or household-name retailer. She has a career that not too many people know too much about, as a sales representative for a fabric converter. (Converters buy unfinished fabric from mills, have the fabric dyed or printed and finished by other companies, then sell the finished fabric.)
As the longtime liaison between Robert Kaufman fabrics in Los Angeles and Hawai'i designers, manufacturers and stores, Kerr is respected, and, yes, loved by the entire Hawai'i fashion industry.
Kerr will receive the Ka Ahu No'eau Lifetime Achievement Award for 2002 from the Made in Hawai'i Committee of the Retail Merchants of Hawai'i. While the award has traditionally gone to high-profile people such as designers Alfred Shaheen of Alfred Shaheen & Co. and Joan Andersen of Princess Kaiulani Fashions, or manufacturers such as Jim Romig of Hilo Hattie and Dave Rochlen of Surf Line/Jams World, committee members unanimously chose Kerr this year.
Kerr has been instrumental in the success of countless island fashion firms. She is looked upon as a friend and respected adviser.
Cascade of accolades
Linda Salz-Goto of Linda G. met Kerr when she was getting started in fashion. "I remember when she saw my sketches, sitting down in the middle of all these fabrics on my living room floor, she said 'I really think this is going to work.' Her gut told her that."
From that day until Kerr retired in 1996, Salz-Goto relied on Kerr for fabrics — and advice. "She always told me not to grow too fast. If she thought I was over-ordering, she'd tell me to hold off, even though it meant less income for her. I'm forever grateful to her. I'll never forget what she did for me."
Robert J. Clancey, a manufacturer of men's, women's and children's aloha attire, praised Kerr for her generous spirit and professionalism. "She's a delightful woman and delightful to work with. She's also supremely honest and well qualified."
Honesty and integrity are words that often come up in conversations about Kerr. Though the standard operating mode in the fashion industry is to keep all cards held close to the chest, Kerr is respected for her openness and willingness to share expertise and to help her customers find what they need, regardless of the source. "If she thought another company could better serve my needs on a given project, she would refer me out," Salz-Goto said. "It's part of her whole approach, wanting to see people be successful in whatever they're doing."
Designers say Kerr has been so supportive that, when times were tough, she cut her commission to help them finance their fabric needs. Kerr even helped her customers get credit, meeting with bank representatives on their behalf.
Designer Nake'u Awai describes Kerr as "a very fine lady with a great business flair," noting, "She is always dressed beautifully with hose, pumps and a skirt and blouse or suit. There aren't too many people around like her."
Joan Andersen of Princess Kaiulani Fashions remembers Kerr always wore the highest heels, yet somehow managed to gracefully lug two suitcases full of fabric samples to their meetings.
In the early 1990s, recognizing that she would like to retire, Kerr looked for someone to train to take over her business. She met Ganette Copeland, who was the Liberty House fabric buyer. Copeland trained with Kerr for six years and took over the business when Kerr retired.
"She's a legend in the industry. There are other sales reps out there, but no one as highly regarded," Copeland said when asked why she took the job.
"She taught me to treat customers like family," Copeland added. "When we go out to meet with customers it's with the intention of helping them, not just selling them something. And if we can't supply them with what they're looking for, we'll find another company that can. We're not selfish with the information we have. We share it."
Homespun values
Kerr's approach, honesty and integrity reflect values she learned growing up on a farm near Fort Wayne, Ind. "I wish every child today could spend a month on a farm sometime during their childhood," she said.
Her mother taught her to sew, and she made her own clothes on an old-fashioned treadle machine.
Kerr was just 17 when her mother died. It was during the Great Depression, and her brother and sister had returned home after losing their jobs. She decided she had to help support the family, but the only job she could find was in a dry-cleaning store.
The manager of the JC Penney store across the street asked her to join the company and a career in retail began. Kerr became a buyer for JC Penney and won national recognition as the biggest seller of children's coats.
The urge to travel west took her to Los Angeles and a job at prestigious J.J. Haggerty, an upscale women's wear retailer. In August 1941, she was offered an opportunity to join Liberty House in Honolulu as a buyer.
In 1947, Ruth Albertson met and married kama'aina import/export businessman Lawrence Kerr. In 1950 she moved out of retail and became a sales representative for Robert Kaufman. Though she and her late husband periodically took time out for world travel, Kerr remained with the company for 21 years.
When Ruth Kerr goes up to the podium to receive her Lifetime Achievement Award, Hawai'i's fashion industry will be saluting their grand dame of fabric.
