Sew excited! SCHOOL DROPOUT TO DESIGNER
What a coup! The busy mum is off to Milan
Growing up, Dee Tuitama was a rebellious student who constantly skipped class and got into no end of trouble. Eventually, she was kicked out of Kelston Girls’ College and became pregnant at just 17.
After that, she settled down, had two more children and hopped from one job to another, working in cafés, bars and restaurants. But one day last year, she came home from a shift, looked at her children and decided to make a change.
“I wasn’t happy with my kids seeing me go to work and wiping tables – I wanted them to see me doing more,” explains Dee. “They see me wiping tables at home. It shouldn’t be a career.”
Inspired by her children, Dee bravely decided to launch her clothing label VAB Designz.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved fashion,” tells Dee, mum to Victoria, 10, Alexanda, five, and Brooklyn, three. “My family didn’t have much, but on rainy days, I remember playing inside with my sister and brother, pretending to be teachers or receptionists, and I started making clothes to dress up as those people.”
The Samoan beauty became fascinated with lavalava and figuring out new ways she could
style them. Before she got kicked out of high school, Dee was avoiding all of her classes except for fabrics, her favourite subject. Despite her struggles, fashion has always been something she’s loved.
VAB-ulous!
Noticing a gap in the market for young, fashion-forward plus-sized clothing, she sat down one afternoon with a friend over drinks – she calls them “Woodstock Wednesdays” – and the name of her clothing label came to her. “I wanted to use the word voluptuous in there somewhere – it’s such a glamorous word for big. Then I thought, ‘Hang on, my kids’ names are Victoria, Alexanda, Brooklyn.’ From there, I created Voluptuous Assets Boutique or VAB Designz.”
Naming her business after her family seemed appropriate as it has become “pretty much my fourth child”, Dee admits.
Now, after several fashion shows over the past year, she has been invited by the Oxford Fashion Studio to showcase her work in Milan. It’s an incredible opportunity and a highlight for Dee, but juggling motherhood with a demanding business hasn’t been easy.
“To be honest, I have no idea how I do it!” she laughs. “I just make it work. One thing I’ve always believed in and tell my kids is to each day make sure we achieve something, even if it’s small.”
Our photo shoot at Dee’s Auckland home is interrupted first by her younger sister, then later by a cousin, and there’s the tooting of cars outside. Dee laughs, saying more of her family are waiting and excited to hear how her day is going.
“My parents and family have helped me so much,” she says. “Even with this photo shoot, they knew it was happening today, so they were all over here last night trying to vacuum the floor and help me tidy up!”
Without her family, Dee confesses starting VAB Designz would have been an even bigger struggle. “The money has been really difficult. I’ve had to ask family and friends for help, and they have. But sometimes it’s hard when you need thousands of dollars for a fashion show and people don’t understand how important that is.
“What made me want to accept the invitation to Milan even more was when they said the allocated models are only between size six and eight, and that if I were to go, I’d have to find other plus-sized models,” explains Dee. “If I’m the only designer showcasing plus-sized fashion, that makes this even more important. If we made this movement in Italy, it would be a huge thing.”
So what would Dee’s rebellious younger self think of her now? “She’d be like, ‘Yes girl, we did it.’ We had all the fun first and now it’s time to get to work!”