Putting passion into fashion

By Vatapuia Maiava 18 July 2016, 12:00AM

The inaugural Samoa Sinnet Fashion Show (S.S.F.S) on Saturday night was no simple fashion show.

But rather, it was a stepping stone for the fashion industry, according to two of the featured designers.

We all understand how big fashion is to the people of Samoa; it is who we are; it is our culture; our identity.

From every pattern in our elei prints to bright colours displayed; the uniqueness of what our fashion designers offers, sets us apart from the rest of the world.

And so, we have had S.S.F.S. as a platform to showcase the talents of our designers.

For Jaffa Chan Chui-Faumuina, a designer from Samoa Island Designs, this fashion show has been long awaited by everyone involved in the industry.

“This fashion show is a great initiative because it helps us promote our shop,” she told Samoa Observer during an interview.

“It brings light to what we as designers are capable of in Samoa; people don’t understand the amount of talent and imagination that goes into our work and this fashion show exposes it.

“The organizers are doing a great job and they are running the show so professionally; I can’t think of anything that they could have done better.

“The number of volunteers and taking time out of their day to come down whether they’re photographers or models, is proof of how much we need fashion shows in Samoa.

“The demand has always been here and we just needed someone to make take the initiative.

“For our shop Samoa Island Designs we make just about anything but we usually only sell puletasi’s and shirts.

“But we also make clothes on request from our customers. We make any kind of wear and not many people know the type of styles we work with so this show is definitely going to help get the word out.”

The young designer continued on to explain the many benefits a fashion show of this likeness has for Samoa.

“I think this show should run every year,” she said.

“Not only is it good for businesses here but it also shows the world what Samoan people can do. This is very important because we are the fashion industry and we need to be out there.

“Fashion is a big part of Samoa, if you walk around town you will notice how colorful our everyday wear is; it’s just who we are; people won’t leave their houses if they don’t look decent.

“Our fashion identity makes us different from the rest of the world.”

Bubbling with excitement, the young designer saidshe had nothing but gratitude towards the S.S.F.S. organizing team.

“I’m so excited about this whole show and I’m excited to see how this idea will grow over the years,” she said.

“I want to thank Enid and her team for what they have put together for the designers and models; this is a leap forward for the fashion industry.”

As for designer and owner of Insiders Samoa, Rosieann Kerstin-Kapeteni, she couldn’t agree more on how great S.S.F.S. is for the fashion industry.

“One of the great things about this fashion show is how we are able to showcase what we do and what we have in our shops/stores, she said.

“We are able to advertise our unique designs all for free since it’s voluntary; the other thing is that we are able to share our knowledge together with other designs.

“It’s not only about organizing a fashion show but for me personally; I have learnt a lot from exchanging ideas and sharing thoughts on designing and printing as well as everything about fashion.”

When asked if there was anything that needed improving the designer could only think of one thing.  “Time,” she said.

“We need a lot of time to prepare and get everything ready; having 16 models seems easy but we need a lot of time because we have adjustment s that need to be carried out  while dressing up the models.”

But all in all, the fashion show has proven to be a hit for photographers, designers and models alike.

 “This is like a wakeup call for us the fashion designer to get out there, do what we do best and to showcase our talent.

“It really pushes us to come out with new ideas and patterns and also new colours in our traditional designs; It is such a good idea to have something like this especially within a new hotel knowing that many people not only from here but overseas will be watching this show.

“This should definitely be an annual show.”

By Vatapuia Maiava 18 July 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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