"When you put the word Pacific or Islander, a lot of people immediately think that's all the mumu style and the Hawaiian-style," says Pacific International Runway CEO Failepou Peni.
"We want to break that stigma by showing what as designers are actually capable of doing. That we are more than capable of just doing cultural wear, but we can actually implement a lot of our culture into the mainstream styling or mainstream market."
Some of the Pacific's hottest names in fashion will be in Pacific International Runway in Sydney on 16 November and in Melbourne on the 30th November.
Miss Samoa 2015/16 Ariana Taufao was one of the models of the 2015 Pacific Runway Fashion Source: PIR/Laumei Photography
Designers from Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Cook Island, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and India will come together to share their latest collection for 2020.
Founded in 2015, Ms Peni is hopeful "to see the PIR in the fashion scene, be recognised as a fashion event that people can come and take note of it" and encourage designers from different Pacific nation's background including the Philippines to come together and be part of this event.
PIR model ambassadors Kymberlee Street (Photo by David Choo) and Mitchell Webb-Leifi (Photo: Mister Landscapes International) Source: David Choo Photos & Mister Landscapes International
"We are not just about the Pacific Islands, we are all about the multicultural that is happening here in Australia and serving their needs" and eventually help in boosting the Australian economy," ends Ms Peni.
