Fashion show will honor revered Hawai'i seamstress
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
 |
| Jayne Miho, left, and former student Lori Moriwaki examine a floral lace at Miho's shop on South King Street. Miho has taught sewing for almost half a century.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Living Legacy' fashion show A benefit for the Kuakini Geriatric Care Home, Hale Pulama Mau, honoring Jayne Miho and featuring the work of Kristal Koga, Miho, Lori Moriwaki, Anne Namba, Mai-Scherelle and Janet Yamasaki boutiques, 9 a.m.i 2:30 p.m.; luncheon and show, noon, Saturday Sheraton Waikiki Hotel Tickets: $50 Information: Betty Hirozawa at 988-3588, or Kathy Inkinen at 521-2331 |
Honolulu's Jayne Miho could only chuckle — the dress was a dead ringer for a gown she made for Nancy Quinn, then Hawai'i's first lady, more than 40 years ago.
For nearly half a century, Miho has taught fashion design, sewing and pattern drafting to generations of island seamstresses. Now 84, she is still teaching and still has an infectious passion for the art of fashion.
At the Japanese Women's Society fashion show on April 26, Miho's designs will share the runway with those of three designers she taught and mentored: Mai-Scherelle, Kristal Koga and Lori Moriwaki.
The show's title, "Living Legacy," comes from a book featuring outstanding women of Japanese ancestry in Hawai'i. Miho and designers Anne Namba and Janet Yamasaki (of Montsuki designs), who also present their work in the show, are featured in the volume.
"Living Legacy" (Japanese Women's Society Foundation, 2002) features several of Miho's classic designs, including the gown worn by Cathy Foy, who chairs Saturday's fashion show, when she won the Miss Hawaii pageant in 1975. The style and drape of the white silk gown look as elegant today as they did then.
Born Fusako Suehiro in 1919 near Ha'iku, Maui, Miho is the daughter of a Buddhist priest from Japan. She lived in Kyoto from age 2 to 18, returning to Hawai'i to reclaim U.S. citizenship.
Wanting to learn American sewing methods, she began studying with Sue Fukumoto at Style Center on King Street near McKinley High School. She became a teaching assistant within three years, and when Fukumoto retired in 1957, Miho took over the school.
How do her students differ from those of a generation ago?
"Girls used to be more serious about learning sewing," with an eye toward making it a career, she said. "You can't make a living dressmaking today. You have to have a day job with steady income in addition to sewing."
Her student Lori Moriwaki knows that all too well. A highly respected custom designer, Moriwaki always has worked other jobs: as a uniform designer for companies such as Hawaiian Airlines, Princeville and Manele Bay; hostess at Alan Wong's Restaurant; events coordinator for Kahala Catering; and now as a food buyer for R. Field Wine Co.
Moriwaki said Miho's methods were not easy to learn.
"The first year, I think she was going to write me off," Moriwaki said, though Miho adamantly shook her head in disagreement.
"I just wanted to create. I wasn't disciplined. But you know, even though the things I wanted to do were not necessarily to her taste, she would help me do whatever I wanted to do. She never discouraged me or my style. She helped me hone my craft to make it as perfect as possible, and she taught me that I should do it the right way or not do it."
Among Miho's other success stories is Nani Soon, who went on to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and worked for couturier Oscar de la Renta.
Honolulu couture designer Mai-Scherelle also credits Miho with much of her knowledge of sewing and pattern drafting.
"She always inspired me to achieve perfection in my work. She's the best sewing-techniques instructor ever — better than the ones I had in Paris. I love her like my mother, and I truly wouldn't be here today without her."
Miho's students often comment on her generosity of spirit. Regardless of their design aesthetic, she is willing to teach them how to achieve whatever they choose to create.
"Just because I don't like it doesn't mean other people won't like it," she said with a shy smile.
When does Miho plan to retire?
"You see this needle?" she asked, holding up the tiniest of sewing needles and peering through the puka. "When I can't thread this any longer, I will quit."
