Kevan Hall | Journey To Japan Fashion, Craft, and Cultural Dialogue

Award-winning American fashion designer Kevan Hall set out on an extraordinary journey with Japan Airlines, traveling from Los Angeles to Tokyo, and onward to the serene prefectures of Kagawa and Tokushima. Immersed in Japan’s rich culture, stunning landscapes, and centuries-old craftsmanship, Hall learned from local expert artisans, discovering the delicate intricacies of Suminagashi marbling, Kintsugi repair, and Indigo Dyeing. He connected with families preserving generational traditions, finding inspiration in their artistry, patience, and dedication.

Hall, celebrated for his elegantly tailored, sensuously draped designs worn by Celine Dion, Charlize Theron, Michelle Obama, Salma Hayek, and Vanessa Williams, translated these encounters into his FW25 collection: Journey to Japan. Each garment was carefully created in response to the textures, colors, and stories he encountered along the way.

During the program, audiences will experience Hall’s journey through a 15-minute Journey to Japan film by Japan Airlines, capturing his travels, discoveries, and the timeless artistry that shaped his creative vision. A moderated conversation with Hall and a fashion editor Booth Moore will follow, exploring the intersections of craftsmanship, travel, and international fashion.

Guests will also view select pieces from the Journey to Japan collection, displayed on mannequins alongside sketches of each design, offering a rare glimpse into the evolution from inspiration to finished work.

This program celebrates how traditional Japanese artistry continues to inspire contemporary creativity, illuminating the beauty of cross-cultural dialogue and the enduring influence of heritage on modern design.

Kevan Hall

Fashion Designer

Image credit: Courtesy of Kevan Hall

Kevan Hall (born in Detroit, Michigan) is an American Fashion Designer best known for his celebrity red carpet dresses and his role as the Design and Creative Director of Halston. From Fall 1998 – Spring 2000, Hall revived the dormant brand to its former glory. His sleek eveningwear has been worn by a distinguished coterie of celebrated women including Celine Dion, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Obama, Naomi Campbell, Vanessa Williams, Viola Davis, Salma Hayek, and more.

In 2002, he launched his own signature, Kevan Hall Collection with a fashion philosophy that emphasizes purity of style, incomparable tailoring and sensuously draped streamlined silhouettes; Hall has a natural design sense of sophisticated elegance and uncluttered modern design. In 2002, Hall won the 47th Annual Gold Coast Fashion Award in Chicago as “Designer of the Year”.

In 2005, Hall was awarded “Stylemaker of the Year” by Life & Style Magazine for his ‘drop-dead glamour’ as seen on the red carpet with Vanessa Williams, Virginia Madsen, Tina Fey, Debra Messing, Sandra Oh and later Ms. Ruby Dee for her 2008 Oscar nomination and Gabourey Sidibe for her 2010 Golden Globe nod. Felicity Huffman won “Best Actress in a Comedy Series” at the 2005 Emmy’s wearing his rouge silk gown with Swarovski crystal accents. Mom’s Allison Janney took home the Critics’ Choice TV Award for “Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” in his Signature navy off-the-shoulder sequin jersey gown, 2015.

Hall has made guest appearances on numerous national TV shows such as Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda, Inside Edition and E! Fashion Police with Joan Rivers where he discussed fashions’ current trends on and off the red carpet.

Throughout Europe, he sold his exclusive collection of dresses and separates, Kevan Hall Inspiration on tv shopping channels QVC and HSE24 Italy. He has given lectures at the Norman Lear Center of the University of Southern California, for the Costume Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and “Fashion Speak” conference in Detroit on his inspirations and influences when designing his collection.

Hall gives back as one of the founders of Black Design Collective, a nonprofit established in 2018 to create scholarships, educational and business workshops and mentorships for young designers to pursue a career in fashion and costume design.

Booth Moore

Fashion Editor

Image credit: Courtesy of Kevan Hall

Booth Moore is a Los Angeles based fashion critic, writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Women’s Wear Daily and Vogue Business among others.

During her career, she has documented the ascendance of Los Angeles as a fashion capital, writing about the rise of Hollywood stylists, costume designers as influencers, talent agencies launching fashion divisions and luxury brands getting into filmmaking. For two decades, she covered the runway collections in New York and Europe and has interviewed nearly every major designer in the business, including Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, Rick Owens, Cate Holstein, Gabriela Hearst, Victoria Beckham and many more.

She has written business features about the success of Kim Kardashian’s Skims and L.A. brand Dôen, covered the Indigenous fashion scene in Santa Fe and penned stories about art, travel and lifestyle news and trends. Moore is the author of three books including “American Runway: 75 Years of Fashion and the Front Row.

Kevan Hall Fall/Winter 2025

Courtesy of The Novus Forum

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