Erika A La Mode spent her childhood surrounded by vintage sewing machines and palaka fabric in her family’s tailor shop on the North Shore of Oahu. She learned to sew at a young age but truly found her passion in 2017 when she began sewing costumes inspired by stage and screen. She has since pursued education in fashion design and apparel manufacturing to learn formal pattern drafting, draping, embellishments, and more. Erika is dedicated to meticulous recreation of fantasy costumes and using her platform to discuss diversity and representation in media and the struggles of costuming with chronic illness disabilities.
Where to find me:
Erika’s talk is titled “Introduction to Kimono: A Brief Overview of Japanese Traditional Dress”:
From jūnihitoe and yukata to happi coats and hakama, kimono offers a wide variety of diverse and elegant traditional dress for the most formal of imperial robes to the most casual of loungewear. Join us for an introductory overview outlining the various styles of traditional dress encompassed within the kimono umbrella to get a glimpse into the art of kitsuke that has developed over more than a thousand years of Japanese clothing.
Costumers of Color 