The June Yamada Academy, offering courses on fashion and manners, is set to open next month. Reporter Zhao Feifei speaks with the woman behind the project and discovers the city's residents need better manners and an improved sense of style June Yamada is not shy, especially when talking fashion.

In a room full of a motley crew of 30 people from Germany, Britain, the United States, Indonesia, Singapore and China, Yamada throws out fashion tips faster than a politician makes campaign promises. Everyone hangs on her words.

``You can wear Gucci suits and Ferragamo shoes and still look very cheap and funny,'' she says with the charisma of a professional public speaker. She practices what she preaches too.

On the drizzly, gray morning, the 56-year-old jazzes it up by wearing a lemon boat-neck T-shirt, to go with light emerald cotton pants and a pair of jade clip-ons -- proof of what Vincent van Gogh once said, ``Yellow is capable of charming God.''

With an innate eye for color and an impeccable resume, Yamada is busy preparing for the opening of the June Yamada Academy -- a fashion and manners school scheduled to open in Pudong next month. She compares it to the John Robert Powers charm schools scattered throughout the United States and Asia.

The Japanese native was a former executive instructor at the Tokyo facility. Powers founded the modeling agency and personality development school in the 1920s. Today, the John Robert Powers System is internationally renowned.

Former US First Ladies Jackie Kennedy and Betty Ford attended Powers' schools. Princess Grace of Monaco was a Powers grad along with Raquel Welsch and Henry Fonda. Although her new academy is designed for society's upper class and despite being born into a wealthy family -- her father is the son of Taiwan's world-famous banana tycoon and her mother is the daughter of the founder of the Ashikaga Bank of Japan -- she is not a snob. ``I love Xiangyang and Wulumuqi roads,'' she says.

``I can always find something nice, and look highly fashionable without spending much money.'' Yamada shows off a black polyester dress that she bought on Wulumuqi Road and later wore to a Christmas ball. Her life has always involved fashion. Unconventional and feisty, Yamada was the first Japanese model hired by the Chrysler Automobile Corp in the 1960s. Her flair for fashion has also earned her the title of ``The Best Dresser in 1998'' by the Japan Media and Magazine Association.

Make it easy and make it look good has always been Yamada's style mantra. The fundamentals of her inspirational style -- a reflection of the disciplined approach of a skilled equestrienne and the discrimination of a connoisseur -- were established as far back as the nursery. She says she could discern a color mistake in her uncle's necktie when she was three years old.

``All my life I've been lucky,'' she says. ``I never had to worry about money. So I never took a nine-to-five job.'' A graduate in political science from the University of California in Los Angeles, Yamada gave up the dream of becoming a lawyer or a doctor after a Hollywood talent scout approached her about being a model.

She made posters and movies, but seldom walked the catwalk due to her height, she is only 1.62 meters. She could earn US$200 a day back then, all of which was spent on shoes and clothes. ``When I was drinking in a New York cafe, a gentleman came to me and said, `June, you're the best','' she says.

```Best of what?' I asked.

`Color,' he replied.

I was a zero person then. This gentleman was none other than Michelle Clauier, former president of Givenchy. His words helped me make the decision to work in fashion.''

Razor sharp in her observations and unwavering in her assessments, she began to design, paying specific attention to color. She also wrote fashion columns for Hollywood Citizen News. Yamada's now running the International Fashion Club in the city, which offers classes on wardrobe basics and dressing for success.

``A woman should dress to suit her looks, not because something's in style,'' says Yamada. ``Unfortunately, many don't do this. They're so busy chasing names that they make a lot of mistakes and waste a lot of money.

They don't need to stick with one designer, but they do need to remember that looking good on the outside is far more important than the label on the inside. Yamada came to Shanghai three years ago for a personal reason that still tugs at her heart. Her mother died of liver cancer and she followed her stepfather, who is Shanghainese, back to his country.

``My stepfather loved my mother so much,'' she says. ``He was so heartbroken and I wanted to take care of him. But later I found that he's so busy here and didn't need me at all. I became lonely. I didn't know anyone else.''

These lonely moments woke her up. She started making friends. Sometimes she kindly corrects the fashion faux pas' of friends at private gatherings. Word of mouth spread among the white-collar career women and ``taitais'' grew into a club of more than 30 members.

Soon the International Fashion Club was not only a place for friends from different nations, but also a serious workshop for those who understand that ``fashion is power'' in business. With business booming in Shanghai, the timing of the June Yamada Academy is no coincidence. ``China is getting better and better,'' she says. ``The people must catch up and wake up the `good taste' in themselves. I feel I'm here at the right time in the right place. Smart dressing opens minds and doors.''

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