A new fashion project named ‘Wearing Fiji’ which focuses on fashion mentoring and education by connecting aspiring student designers with established designers in Fiji will be launched in September with a fashion show showcasing fashion designers and artisans from Fiji.
Wearing Fiji Co-founder, Neisau Tuidraki says there is a wealth of knowledge with designers in the industry and what they are trying to do through the project is identify aspiring designers in the community and connect them with designers who want to mentor.
Another Co-founder, Samson Lee says with COVID-19 having an impact on the livelihoods of Fijians, the project also aims to support SME’s by engaging designers and artisans from the community by hosting a fashion show to launch the project.
He says next month the project will be identifying student designers and pairing them with participating designers and they will undergo a 4 week mentorship and produce one garment for the fashion show proper.
He says the show will draw inspiration from the crimson shining parrot.
Lee says the species known as ‘Kakula’ is endemic to the islands of Kadavu.
He says they are surrounded by one of the most lush environments in the world and he wanted the designers to draw inspiration from one of our most exotic birds as it will inspire some amazing collections for the night.
The fashion show will take place on the first week of September and they will release details as COVID-19 restrictions are updated closer to the date.
