On the Scene: VIP party at DVP Honolulu
Diane von Fürstenberg, second from left, welcomed "Hawaii Five-0" star Grace Park, left, "Five-0" publicist Erika Kauffman and Annie Kwon (Park's cousin) to the private grand opening reception for her new boutique, DVF Honolulu, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at Ala Moana Center.
BY JOHN BERGER / jberger@staradvertiser.com
Fashion designer Diane von Fürstenburg celebrated the grand opening of her new boutique, DVP Honolulu, at Ala Moana Center with a private VIP reception co-hosted by Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at Ala Moana Center. Unlike many high-end store-openings and similar events these days there was no admission charge or donation required for those on the invite list — and von Fürstenberg made a $10,000 donation to EuroCinema Hawaii as well.
It was quite an event — champagne and white wine, hors d’ oeuvres, eclectic musical programming by DJ Monkey, and a cross-section of Honolulu’s interesting people: EuroCinema Hawai’i board members Liz Kawananakoa, Carmen di Amore-Siah and Terry Hubbard; Candes Meijide Gentry and her mother, Condesa-Azira Nora Meijide Gentry; Eleanor Kawananakoa; Cammy and Bill Maheras; celebrity dentist Dr. Alvin Chung; Marisa and Patrick Gey; Oahu Publications Inc. board member Jeffrey Watanabe and his wife, Lynn; man-about-town Lance Rae; and Susie and Rick Fried.
Diane von Fürstenberg talked with party guests Brian Yang (aka Charlie Fong on "Hawaii Five-0"), left, and EuroCinema Hawaii board member Chris Lee.
Chris Lee was making plenty of introductions for Brian Yang, a recent addition to the cast of “Hawaii Five-0″ in the recurring role of crime lab tech Charlie Fong. Yang says he owes his role on the show to Hall & Oates. Why? Because he had come to Hawaii to see a Hall & Oates concert, and then discovered while he was here that “Five-0″ was holding auditions for the role. If he hadn’t been here for the concert he wouldn’t have known about the audition. Yang says he’s been to 30 Hall & Oates concerts but met a woman who told him she’d seen the duo in concert 300 times.
Miss Hawaii USA 2005 Jennifer Fairbank was also on the guest list. She’s working on a film in Los Angeles that she describes as being like the “Hangover” movies “but set in Hawaii.”
Watters O. Martin Jr., stopping by with his wife, Kristy, and son, Kamuela, was congratulated for wearing an aloha shirt. The APEC leaders notwithstanding, serious businessmen and politicians wear aloha shirts in Hawaii.
And heads turned, of course, when Grace Park arrived with her cousin, Annie Kwon, and publicist Erika Kauffman.
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John Berger has been a mainstay in the local entertainment scene for nearly 40 years. Contact him via email at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
