She is wearing a white blouse and black slacks - held up suitably by a belt from Chanel - with a pair of cowboy boots and she is telling a group of expats how to improve their appearance.

The members of the International Fashion Club (IFC) in Shanghai are having one of their private gatherings on a Sunday afternoon.

The lady doing the talking is also the organizer of the club. She is June Yamada, a Japanese with a proud Chinese heritage who has set up what may be China's and also Asia's first school of fashion and manners.

A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) with a major in Political Science, Yamada in her career has also been a visiting assistant professor at UCLA, a columnist in a Hollywood newspaper, the first-contracted Japanese model for the Chrysler Automobile Corporation, a TV reporter and a commentator on international affairs.

Yamada's formative experiences in the US and Japan moulded her sense of good taste and made her realize early that "Fashion Is Power" in business and in life.

Born into a rich family of high social status - her father was the son of the "Banana Tycoon" of Taiwan, and her mother was the daughter of the founder of the Ashikaga Bank of Japan - Yamada has never had to worry about money.

During her university days in the US, she spent almost all her money on clothes. But to her friends, Yamada never appeared to be rich, just always on top in the world of fashion.

The closeness of UCLA to Hollywood first provided an opportunity for Yamada in 1965 when a movie producer introduced her to the world of modelling. She was later invited to be the spokeswoman for Chanel in Tokyo.

Big spender

"By 1966, I could earn as much as US$200 a day," she said. "You know, that was too much money for a student. But I still wasn't able to get rich by saving my money because I spent it all on clothes. And I would also give them away to poorer fellow students."

She did not become a lawyer after graduation, as her parents had wished, but instead began a career in fashion and television. Her outstanding flair for fashion earned her the title of "The Best Dresser of 1988" awarded by the Japan Media and Magazine Association.

If Yamada's keen insight into fashion trends is inborn, she inherited her good taste and manners from her mother. "My mother told me" could be June's pet phrase. As well as the well-known highly developed etiquette of the Japanese, her mother also imbued Yamada with ideals that will stay with her all her life.

"I still remember what my mother told me when I was 10 years old. At that time, I was already famous among my friends. One day, I asked her innocently:

'Mom, I am very famous, right?'

"My mother said: 'June, whether you are famous or not, pretty or not, rich or poor, it is not for you to decide. It is for others to decide'."

Yamada defines good manners as thoughtfulness for others. This comes from her mother's precept that one should be good to everything and everybody.

"Since I was a small child, my mother required that I should say 'Please' to the housemaid because every one is equal, no matter whether they are rich or poor. So I dislike those people who abuse their title and position to bully people below them," she said.

Shanghai ties

Yamada came to Shanghai with her father about two and a half years ago after her mother's death. Like many foreigners, Yamada brought with her to China medicines and other life essentials but was surprised to find that Shanghai was such a modern city.

Not having many friends or a job when she landed here, Yamada killed time by setting up gatherings with the few friends she had to chat about fashion and that was the beginning of IFC. By word of mouth, IFC soon grew into an organization of more than 30 members.

Shanghai's development by leaps and bounds has impressed Yamada, but she also sees gaps in the manners of Shanghainese such as spitting or stripping to the waist in public places.

"China has a great culture. I think it is time to highlight good taste and proper manners to local people," said Yamada. "My friends always say: 'Yamada, you are the best in fashion. Why don't you organize a school and teach?'

"I thought: 'Hmm, I have rock-solid experience in the fashion field and 30-years of know-how and I could be professional in teaching'."

This led to the project that became the June Yamada Academy, No.1 in Asia for the teaching of manners. The school opens this autumn in Shanghai and is expected to attract Chinese professional career men and women as well as others from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.

"I appreciate China for providing me with such a good opportunity to do what I really like. And I am happy also that I can do something for Shanghai," she said.

Although a foreigner, Yamada is confident she will be able to teach the best manners in the world because of her belief that having good manners is universal and her unique background as an "Internationalist".

"I was born in Japan, influenced by American culture and I have Chinese blood. I can combine the hospitality of Japanese culture, table manners from America and Europe, and the wisdom of the Chinese such as in Zen," said Yamada.

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