Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - May 5, 2021

O’Neill: Teaching The Ways Of The Runway
FROM PAGE 4
classroom experience, but rather a real-life fashion show production experience, high- lighting the creative process, communication, organization and team work,” she says. “Also there are no mistakes or bad ideas — learn from every- thing.”
dealing with something she hadn’t encountered in decades. “For the first time in 30 years, I didn’t do any shows at NYFW,” she says, pointing out she wasn’t the only one. The pandemic had forced produc- tions to change, and many went to a virtual platform. So, too,
dinator. “Both have enormous skills sets and talents and come with a background of produc- ing top-level fashion shows.”
thing that almost everyone is familiar with by now, and the FDM 430 teachers and stu- dents tackled it head-on.
The class typically culmi- nates in an end-of-semester fashion show. Last year, due to coronavirus restrictions, the show was canceled.
did FDM 430.
“When we found out that
So, from her home in up- state New York, O’Neill co-teaches Zoom classes with Stevens and the students here in Hawai‘i. She is able to re- lay knowledge gleaned from her time working with design houses such as Hervé Leger, Becca Swimwear, Shay Todd, Duckie Brown, Vivienne Tam and more.
Because the show is celebrat- ing its 55th year, co-teachers wanted to honor this milestone while also teaching students how to adapt to new ways of showcasing their work.
Lynne O’Neill at the Son Jung Wan show with fashion stylist Deborah Watson.
PHOTO COURTESY LYNNE O’NEILL
“Last spring ... midway through the semester, the stay-at-home orders were issued and right after spring break, we went 100% virtu- al,” recalls Stevens, who co- taught the class for the first time last year. “It was heart- breaking for the students but we ... knew that our students’ safety was the most important thing. Keeping them engaged and letting them know that we were there for them was so important.”
Silver linings aside, O’Neill is eager to be in Hawai‘i in per- son, not just virtually.
Meanwhile, O’ Neill was
“Hawai‘i has a great wealth of talent and we are very lucky to have Lynne O’ Neill and Amanda Stevens teach this year’s class on Fashion Show Production,” states Andy Reil- ly, Ph.D., FDM program coor-
“This stuck with me because it is a fundamental lesson that you can apply to all aspects of life, but it is very important in the workplace. This taught me to value clarity in commu- nication because uncertainty hinders productivity when working on a project.”
The docuseries is made up of two segments. First, Road to Runway: Meet the Senior
In addition to the 55th an- nual fashion show displaying the work of the students, the broadcast will feature guest speakers such as UH president David Lassner, cameos by Ha- wai‘i-based fashion designers,
(co-teacher from last spring) Aly Ishikuni Sasaki would not be teaching this semester, and that the class would be online, I immediately reached out to Lynne because I knew that was something she had mentioned wanting to do, sometime in the future to give back to the local community and future fashion show producers,” Stevens ex- plains.
“Between Lynne and I, the virtual fashion show was the plan from the start,” Stevens explains. “We knew that the stu- dents deserved to have a show and that we were not going to teach a ‘conceptual’ fashion show production class.”
Fashion Design Students in- cludes interviews with the program’s three seniors and debuted April 27. Check out the show’s Instagram (@uhm- fashionshow) for streaming updates.
a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion show and more.
“(She) said something along the lines of, ‘If you do not have the information, you cannot direct,’” says lead student pro- ducer Melanie Simmons.
“The silver lining is that I was able to co-teach with Amanda Stevens and we were able to connect with the stu- dents remotely and produce a PSA and a two-part docuseries that included the virtual 55th annual fashion show,” O’Neill explains.
The second part, Road to Runway: The Fashion Show premieres May 10 at 6 p.m. on ʻŌlelo 53 and 8:30 p.m. on KFVE 6 with a livestream on hawaiinewsnow.com.
“I can’t wait to indulge in all my favorite local foods like Liliha Bakery’s Coco Puffs, Leonard’s malasadas, Zippy’s — or the new Papa Kurt’s — for saimin, Waiola Shave Ice, Helena’s Hawaiian Food and the ubiquitous Spam musubi,” she says. “(Husband) Bobby and I usually go to Hawai‘i twice a year, but haven’t been (back) since February 2020. I’m looking forward to seeing my mom, ‘ohana and friends — and just being home.”
That uncertainty is some-
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