Fiji Fashion Week

Fiji Fashion Week is run by Fashion Week Limited, a limited liability company incorporated in the Republic of Fiji in January 2009.

For the first few years of Fiji Fashion Week, the Fijian fashion industry was considered "fledgling",[1] "a surprise",[2] and "a novelty", but by 2025 it has been discussed as part of a wider Pacific movement toward sustainable fashion.[3]

History

Fiji Fashion Week was established in 2008 as an initiative aimed at recognising the creativity of Fijian designers and revitalising the local fashion industry. The first four-day event was held at the Hilton Hotel at Denarau in Nadi.[4]

In 2009 Ellen Whippy-Knight succeeded Donnalesi Whippy in the leadership of the event and relocated it to Suva. Fiji Fashion Week Ltd was incorporated in January 2009 to develop and manage the event and support the growth of the fashion industry in Fiji.[4]

By 2017 the event had reached its tenth year and featured designers from across the Pacific Islands.[5] In 2018 the event celebrated its eleventh year.[6]

Recent coverage

The 2025 edition marked the eighteenth iteration of the event and attracted increasing international attention.[7] Recent discussions of Pacific fashion have highlighted sustainability and the use of traditional materials and techniques as emerging strengths of the region's fashion industry.[8]

References

  1. ^ Sami, Rajan (20 August 2022). "From Suva runways to the pages of Vogue: the rising star of Fiji's fledgling fashion scene: Laisiasa Raibevu Davetawalu, who designs under the label Elaradi, carries the hope of his local fashion community, which fundraised to send him to design school in Australia". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  2. ^ Ahwa, Dan (9 June 2018). "Culture & Style Collide At Fiji Fashion Week 2018". NZ Herald. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  3. ^ Movodo, Lice (3 June 2026). "Program: Could the Pacific be a pioneer in fashion sustainability?". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b Igglesden, Kate (2019). Traditionally Contemporary? Understanding Urban Fijian Creativity Through the Framework of Fashion (PDF) (Thesis). University of East Anglia.
  5. ^ "Glitz and glamour at Fiji's Fashion Week that's trying to promote Pacific fashion globally". ABC Pacific. 26 May 2017.
  6. ^ Ahwa, Dan (9 June 2018). "Culture & Style Collide At Fiji Fashion Week 2018". Viva. The New Zealand Herald.
  7. ^ "Fiji Fashion Week proves Pacific designers belong on the world stage". ABC Pacific. 4 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Could the Pacific be a pioneer in fashion sustainability?". ABC Pacific. 3 June 2025.