FASHION : Nisei Week

At a fashion show to help launch Nisei Week, the annual celebration of the Japanese community in Los Angeles, Shirley Sakamoto attracted special attention. She is a third-generation Japanese-American who makes custom-designed clothes for private customers. And she was chosen as the only Asian designer to participate in this year’s show.

Other fashion entrees were selected from popular shops in the Montebello, Santa Ana, San Marino and Whittier areas. Among them were outfits from the Great American Short Story, Gap Kids and Units. Randi Tahara, a committee member for this year’s show, explained that the theme of the show was the L.A. look. And the clothes that best seemed to fit were either ultra-casual or ultra-glitzy. In past years, she added, there have been more Japanese designers represented.

Designer Sakamoto, age 34, is based in West Los Angeles and said she has never seen her clothes on a fashion runway until now.

“Because so much of my work is custom-made, I never get to show the designs I create,” she explained. “This show gave me a chance to show people what I like to do.”

Her style, rich but not really glitzy, is reminiscent of leading Japanese designers based in Paris, who prefer asymmetrical shapes and multilayered hemlines. She said she has never thought of her design shapes as having Asiatic influences, but her inspiration for colors derives from Indonesia, Turkey and Japan. The fall styles she presented at the show, sponsored by the Los Angeles-Nagoya Sister City Affiliation, were fitted gabardine suits and beaded silk organza or chiffon outfits for evening. They range in price from $100 for a blouse to $1,000 for an evening ensemble.

Sakamoto is a graduate of L.A. Trade Technical Institute and worked for Tadashi, the Japanese transplant whose fashion company is based here now, before starting her own custom business more than three years ago.

Tadashi has long been associated with Nisei Week, which officially begins on Saturday, as the designer of the pageant clothes for the Nisei Queen Court, a traditional part of the festivities.

“I would have liked to see more Asian designers who are just starting out,” Sakamato said of the fashion show. “It is a great opportunity for us to approach an audience that is receptive to our creative expression and point of view.”