Design duo adieu

Next month will mark the end of an era as designers Eric Chandler and Takeo prepare to retire to the Pacific Northwest, ending more than 40 years of a fashion, beauty pageant and event planning career that touched the lives of countless organizations and individuals, from Miss America 1992 Carolyn Sapp to actor Jason Momoa.

The hardworking duo is not prepared to stop their artistic and fashion pursuits altogether, but the move comes on the heels of several health scares that have sent both to the emergency room in the past couple of years, the last on March 17, 2013, when Chandler suffered a heart attack following the pair’s Red Fashion Show at the Pacific Club.

"We should have slowed down years ago," he said. "I had congestive heart failure four years ago, and the last time, I told Takeo, Just take me to hospice because I’m dying.’ The doctor told me, You can die this week, or I can put in a pacemaker and defibrillator,’ so that’s what I did and it was like my life started all over again. It was wonderful."

Chandler kept the pain hidden behind work, smiles and the jokes that entertained so many over the years as the pair worked with some 50 community groups and nonprofits to raise funds through fashion shows.

They originally planned to leave the islands April 30 but continue to be inundated with requests to help out with various events. They signed on for one last event, a farewell fashion show that will be part of Augie T’s Mother’s Day Brunch and Show taking place 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 11 at Manoa Grand Ballroom.

They recognized early the power of fashion to unite people and raise funds for small, volunteer-run charitable organizations.

Longtime community volunteer Blossom Tyau said, "I’ve been working with them for a couple of decades, and they’re always very cooperative, very wonderful and happy to help."

She’s worked with the two in raising scholarship funds for the Chinese Chamber of Hawaii’s Narcissus Festival and the Chinese Women’s Club of Honolulu, and recalls work they’ve done with the Cherry Blossom Festival, Travel Women Hawaii and Associated Chinese University Women.

"They’re two beautiful people whose appreciation of aesthetics and love of people young and old is inspiring," she said.

Former Hawaii first lady Vicky Cayetano has known the designers for 17 years, wearing a number of their designs on official visits. "In that time, I have come to appreciate their many contributions to our fashion industry and our community at large," she said via email. "Their generosity to our community through the giving of time and talent in designing fashion shows have yielded substantial dollars raised for nonprofit organizations.

"We are a more beautiful and giving place because of the aloha which they have so graciously shared with all of us."

Eric Chandler and Takeo Kobayashi, who’s known by his first name, met at the Sir John comedy club (where Panya now stands on Queen Street) shortly after both arrived in the islands in the late 1970s. They asked each other where they were from and were floored by their responses. Takeo, originally from Japan, replied, "Seattle," where he had been trying to establish a career as an artist. Chandler, originally from Seattle, replied, "Japan," where he was studying the Japanese language.

"We began to fight then and there and never stopped," Chandler joked.

With simpatico interests in fashion, design, art and illustration, they quickly teamed up to form a design company and landed Shiseido as their first client, helping the Japanese cosmetics giant market its new products to a Western audience. They also started a school for graphic design, enrolling 300 students at a time.

"Our career has been like a diamond, with many different facets," Chandler said. "We worked as guest speakers, artists, designers, graphic artists. That’s how we survived all this time."

As pageant directors for the Miss Hawaii USA and Miss Hawaii Teen USA organizations, they groomed many a beauty queen and founded 2Couture to showcase their fashion designs, predominantly worn by beauty queens and Hawaii’s elite. They also worked closely with the Governor’s Office dating to George Ariyoshi’s administration to promote Hawaii fashion abroad, from Japan to Germany.

As talent managers, they discovered Jason Momoa as a gangly teenager fresh off the plane from Iowa and gave him work as a model before sending him to audition for "Baywatch Hawaii." The show turned out to be a launchpad for a career that led to TV roles in "Stargate: Atlantis" and "Game of Thrones," as well as the title role in 2011’s "Conan the Barbarian."

With surging mainstream interest in fashion, Takeo created the Fresh F.A.C.E. (Fashion, Arts, Cuisine, Entertainment) of Nuuanu street festival in 2006. It was the first Fashion Week-style event in Honolulu, with a full day of fashion shows by 50 designers on Nuuanu Avenue. The event included a design competition with cash awards in multiple categories of design ranging from men’s and aloha wear to swimwear. One of the winners, in 2007, was 10-year-old Joyce Furuya, who remains interested in fashion and plans to enroll in the Fashion Institute Technology or Parsons The New School for Design in New York City.

Along the way, Chandler and Takeo were wooed by millionaires who wanted to back retail endeavors on their behalf, but the pair always said no. "One of my artist friends said she never wanted to be a shopkeeper, and I admire her,"Takeo said. "Even though she struggles, I can see why. I would find sitting in a shop really boring, not satisfying."

Chandler explained, "We did fashion for the artistry, not the money."

They also turned down TV offers that would have taken them away from Hawaii.

"After you’re established in a community, you’re not looking out for joy and fulfillment because you already have it," Chandler said. "That’s why we never considered moving."

But he said the time is right now due to health reasons. In 2011 Takeo survived a heart attack, open-heart surgery and a stroke, from which he is still recovering.

And being in Buckley, Wash., living in a 100-year-old farmhouse on an acre on the slope of Mount Rainier, will bring Chandler closer to his aging mother. "It’s Legends of the Fall’ territory, and we’re Legends of the Follies,’" he said.

They’re already making plans to volunteer at an art museum and work with high school students interested in pursuing careers in fashion.

And Chandler fancies becoming an apple farmer, harvesting the fruit from the heirloom orchard on their property.

"On Google I found out there are 4,000 people in the whole city and 0.5 percent are Asians," Takeo said. "I’m going to advertise, If you’re an Asian within 300 miles, call me and I’ll take you to lunch.’"