Fashion and charity have come together with the launch of AZA MAN by local designer Zulfikar Ali, with a percentage of sales going towards supporting life-saving heart surgery for children.
The new menswear range was launched at TappooCity Suva, bringing together Ali’s passion for fashion, his long association with the Tappoo Group and his commitment to giving back to the community.
Speaking at the launch, Ali, the designer and Managing Director of Aza Designs, said the occasion was a very special one for him.
He says his journey with the Tappoo Group began in 2000 when he joined the Suva store, and that it was during those years that the foundation of Aza was created.
Ali left the Tappoo Group in 2019 and later started his own business in 2022, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
He says returning after seven years and joining hands with the Tappoo Group once again to launch AZA MAN was a very special full-circle moment.
Ali says what made the launch even more special was AZA MAN's partnership with the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Heart Hospital and that a percentage of sales will go towards supporting a life-saving surgery.
INSERT: Ali on partnership with heart hospital PN 9th Sept
Meanwhile, Director and CEO of the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Heart Hospital Fiji, Dr Krupali Tappoo says she was grateful to Ali for the initiative, describing it as a wonderful blend of fashion and purpose.
Dr Tappoo says heart disease is rampant in Fiji and the Pacific, with the hospital focusing on providing life-saving heart surgeries for children from Fiji and the surrounding Pacific islands.
She says if children needing these surgeries had to travel to Australia or New Zealand, the cost could exceed $100,000.
She says so far, 489 life-saving surgeries and interventional procedures had been conducted, while close to 57,000 echocardiograms had also been carried out through the hospital’s screening centre, public hospitals, health centres, villages, islands and maritime regions.
Dr Tappoo says the hospital had also reached other Pacific countries and continues to work with visiting medical teams from around the world, while also building the capacity of local and Pacific medical professionals.
INSERT: Dr Krupali on support 9th Sept
Dr Tappoo thanked Ali for supporting the hospital through the AZA MAN launch, saying it would help save more lives.
