TARGETING the youthful market with his nascent fashion label I.AM, young designer Seci Burese hopes to launch his new collection which promises rich, wearable and trendsetting garments on Friday night at Fiji Fashion Week .
The 20-year-old will be launching his F.A.N.C.I collection at this year’s Fiji Fashion Week (FJFW) commencing tomorrow.
Over a period of one month, Burese planned his new collection targeting the 19-29 age brackets.
“My new collection that will be launched at Fiji Fashion Week this year has to be the most risky approach I will take in merging prints and stripes together and trying to find harmony so that there is a balance throughout the whole collection,” Burese said. “My collection is for those who are comfortable in breaking the fashion rules and setting the trends.”
Burese’s, I.AM Label is mainly a youthful label focusing on street and formal wear. It plays with prints and takes risks but at the same time ensure that the clients are comfortable with what they wear.
According to the Matawalu, Bua lad, the concept behind his collection was “basically breaking the fashion rules!”
“Like in the streets of Seoul, London and New York, there are fashionistas who take fashion to the next level and I think with Fiji being the hub of fashion in the Pacific Region, we should make statements with what we wear not only for fashion events but with we wear from day to day,” Burese said.
The significance of the collection name F.A.N.C.I is derived from how Fijians would complement someone/something stylish and elegant – “Fancy!”
Burese also hopes that all of his pieces will be a hit on the runway this year as he had ensured that all were marketable and wearable.
“With the pieces being wearable, it should be appealing to anyone who its outgoing and a fashion lover,” he said.
Looking at the finer details, Burese said the prints on his new collection are mainly tropical prints and stripes in the shades of green to signify nature.
He said the fabric choice was canvas cotton because it was breathable and comfortable.
Burese’s passion for fashion began at a fairly young age while he was attending primary school some years back.
“It’s simply because I have a passion for it! Most people think that it’s just about the glitz and glamour, looking good and putting out good collection but there is more to that and that’s what I love about it, having to see the whole process of making someone look elegant is the reason why I love doing fashion,” Burese said.
“I was never interested in the fashion Industry growing up to be completely honest! I was more of an artist, randomly sketching with my best friend, Alipate Sowane (who taught me how to sketch like a pro) and making creative sculptures, entering art shows back in primary school.
It was not until his transition from primary to high school that made him realize that his ppearance mattered in the public eye.
“So I started styling up clothes and being a high school student at the time, money was not easy to come by especially when my parents would limit my “spending” so that’s when I started to sketch out designs or clothes that I would wear, clothes teenagers my age should wear,” he said.
“The first fashion show I entered in the year 2011 was an eye opener for me because it made me realize that there was an actual Industry for those creative artists who took fashion designing seriously.”
