FIJI Fashion Week (FJFW) continues to champion diversity and inclusivity in the Pacific’s growing fashion industry.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, FJFW Director Ellen Whippy-Knight reaffirmed the event’s long-standing commitment to creating a platform that supports both emerging and established designers from diverse backgrounds.
“Fiji Fashion Week has been and always will be about diversity and inclusivity,” Ms Whippy-Knight said.
“The platform was created for Fijian designers, but we also opened it up to international designers so that they could serve as benchmarks, many of them have studied fashion formally, while our local designers have immense raw talent.”
She said Fiji Fashion Week had grown into a hub for Pacific creatives, attracting interest from regional designers who see it as a viable and valuable stage for showcasing their collections.
“It’s becoming quite diverse, and it’s a really good thing that Fiji can be the platform for the Pacific region,” she said.
The opening night featured a range of designers representing various abilities and backgrounds, including Tia Semi, who lives with hearing loss, intellectual challenges, and epilepsy.
