Fashion for Peace: Creating designs that foster peace

FASHION FOR PEACE is the theme for the 2023 PNG Fashion and Design Week.

This year, PNGFDW is working in close collaboration with final-year Art and Design students from the University of Papua New Guinea, promoting greater recognition and opportunities for the youth who graduate from this course into the real world.

The announcement was made by founder of PNG Fashion and Design Week Ltd, Janet Sios, who aims to highlight challenges faced by the students and utilize the fashion industry as the bridge to explore raw PNG talent and help build careers in fashion.

“We went through the Student Representative Council (SRC) and hosted a runway for them on the 29^th of June at the University and it has opened up our eyes to the potential of the students that they could tap into such an industry.”

Mrs Sios explained that the creative industry is worth more than five billion in the whole world and Papua New Guinea is yet to reach and utilize its full creative potential.

Sios and her team have in the past eight years led awareness and advocacy campaigns for sustainable growth, addressing challenges such as intellectual property, market access, financing for small businesses and the preservation of PNG’s cultural heritage through fashion design.

“The creative arts students need to be aware of what we are doing in the industry, creating a culture creative industry in Papua New Guinea.”

With a vision to develop a thriving and progressive creative economy in Papua New Guinea, Sios explained that the fashion and design space is very much inclusive and not limited to models and fashion designers.

“This is not just for models and designers only; jewelers, photographers, videographers and makeup artists can also join this sector and earn an honest living.”

“That is why we continue the work that we have started eight years ago, to bring awareness on how we manage ourselves in bringing this industry forward.”

“Fashion For Peace is a very important serious topic for us”

“Our country is going through a lot; our young people are lost.

“We feel that such a platform can be a powerful tool to bring the messages of positivity.”

“We’ve challenged the designers and models to create designs that reflect the various aspects of peace,” explained Sios.

In accordance with the theme, “Fashion for Peace” UPNG Final-Year Student designer, Enoch Nalong named his ‘collection “Oneness in Nature” which exemplifies the serenity of being one with nature bringing forth a sense of peace.

Enoch is the only male out of seven student designers who will showcase their designs alongside other established and emerging designers.

They are:

The PNG Fashion and Design Week show will take place on Saturday (August 19) at the Stanly Hotel in Port Moresby.