At 5-foot-2, Lynn Sakutori grew up having trouble finding clothes that fit her petite frame.
Not that it mattered much. With sewing skills gleaned from childhood, she was perfectly capable of altering or sewing her own clothes but felt sorry for friends and other women with the same fit problem. So Sakutori, a contemporary clothing line for petites, was born.
The designer will show her latest collection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Nordstrom, where pieces sold out last month during her debut event and the store created a wait list. This time around, Sakutori has prepared by creating twice as many styles and pieces geared toward working women whose tastes have surpassed the realm of fast, flimsy ready-to-wear.
MEET THE DESIGNER
Lynn Sakutori at Nordstrom Petite Focus:
» Where: Nordstrom, Ala Moana Center
» When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday |
Her designs range from silk dresses to go-anywhere separates that can be dressed up or down, with all pieces priced at $78 or less. Among her most popular pieces are a tulip-hemmed cropped pant that’s stylish and comfortable, as well as a long pant that wears like leggings without the tightness. Both are popular with summer travelers.
While coming up with a petite line seems like a no-brainer for Hawaii, Sakutori said she always wanted to start her own line but didn’t know how to go about it. She moved to New York to gain more experience in the fashion industry, fully intending to return home to work one day.
What she couldn’t have guessed is that after spending seven years in New York, she’d end up buying the small local manufacturing company, RPM Sales, Inc., where she’d gotten her start as a production coordinator after graduating from the University of Hawaii Apparel Product Design and Merchandising program.
“The owners wanted me to take over what they started, and I thought that was a great opportunity,” she said.
With her familiarity with the company and experience designing everything from suits to woven goods for such companies as The Limited, Kenneth Cole and Nine West in New York, it seemed she could easily step into the role of manufacturer-designer. It’s taken her five years to hit her stride.
“Manufacturing is completely different from design. I had to start all over and relearn everything,” she said.
“When you work for a big company, everything’s set up. They have teams to buy fabric and do all the little things so you can focus on one thing. I had to learn how to be a salesperson, how to do bookkeeping. I knew it was going to be a lot of hard work, but I was willing to do anything and learn everything to get it done.”
In addition to the Sakutori line, she designs the Lauren M. line carried at Macy’s.
