Samoan fashion shines in the rain

By Sarafina Sanerivi 19 September 2016, 12:00AM

The first ever Samoa Fashion Week culminated on Saturday evening with a spectacular runway show and competition set over the swimming pool at the Hotel Tanoa Tusitala. 

It was indeed a show to remember. 

Not only because it was the first of its kind in Samoa, but despite stormy weather; the show went ahead.

“The rain blessed the show and it was a night to remember. It was the first time ever in the world that a fashion show was held in the rain,” claimed the president of the Samoa Arts Council and host, Seiuli Allan Alo. 

Hundreds of locals and from visitors overseas, gathered to witness the best from Samoa’s designers. 

The Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa opened the show and congratulated the Samoa Arts Council for the great initiative of having a week displaying the variety of fashion in Samoa. 

And like any other competition, there had to be winners. 

Dane Mulinu’u Fabricius of DMF Fashion Line won the overall prize for the Emerging Designers. 

He also collected the ultimate prize having taken out the Best evening wear, Best Urban wear, Best Resort wear, Best Big Mamas wear, and Best Church- inspired. 

For the established designers, Sofa’i Creations took out the Best Creative and the Best Traditionally-inspired wear. 

Both winners will also feature in the Pacific Runway Fashion Show in Australia next month.

The show was divided into categories; the Competition and the Open category. 

Ten established designers and five emerging designers participated in the show and treated the audience to a range of colourful varieties of their creations. 

In the Competition category, the designers were judged on six different genres of fashion namely; Resort wear, Urban wear, Big Mama wear, Church-inspired, Evening wear and Creative or Traditionally-inspired wear.

“Lifting up the standard of the fashion industry in Samoa from local to international level, was the whole idea of inviting professional fashioners to judge the show,” Seiuli said. 

“It’s about time we did that,” he told the Samoa Observer. 

“The S.A.C. believes we need to move up and be able to compete internationally, so that people outside of Samoa and the Pacific can see the creativity and the talents of our people in the fashion industry. It’s about developing our fashion industry.”  

What made this show unique? 

Seiuli reiterated that it was the rain that made it ‘different and unique.’

“It was the rain that made it different,” he added.

“All the international people who came said they had never seen anything like that before. 

“It was the best show ever. 

“We worked with the elements of nature and climate change and adapted to it. The weather is so unpredictable but like I said, it made it better and different.” 

The five judges were Fa’ilepou Peni, Director of the Pacific Runway Fashion Show; Sarika Young, owner of the FTM Model Management Agency in Australia; Marita Wendt of Plantation House; Cecilia Keil of Cecilia’s Fashion House and Vanya Taule’alo from the Samoa Arts Council.  

Here are some photos from the show:

By Sarafina Sanerivi 19 September 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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