Fiji Sun

Bottega Fijian Fashion Festival Model Casting

- Source: The Bottega Fijian Fashion Festival Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj

The Bottega Fijian Fashion Festival will be holding it’s first model casting for the 2019 fashion year on January 19 at the University of the South Pacific’s Oceania Centre at 10am.

The chairperso­n of the Fashion Council of Fiji and Fijian Fashion Festival trustee, Faraz Ali said: “Models form the biggest component of any fashion event. We made a decision in 2018 to ensure that for the firsttime models would be properly paid for their time and dedication, and also that we would prepare for life beyond modelling.

“It is my personal sentiment that models must be prepared with social and business skills to be able to be ready for the demands of everyday life in the market, and we therefore will run workshops on self-branding, confidence, networking, and value for chosen models from now until the festival which runs from June 6 to 9, 2019.

Diversity is absolutely central to what we do because the market needs to see themselves reflected in the catwalk presentati­ons in order to ensure commercial success for designer collection­s.

This is also a way for us to change the narrative around representa­tion, and indeed we as an event continue to be global leaders in the areas of diversity and inclusivit­y.

The model casting will have potential models walk in front of a panel of judges led by Mr Ali, and internatio­nal model, Phillipa Steele, where they will be assessed on their walk, posture, attitude and confidence.

The festival prides itself on its commitment to values including diversity and inclusivit­y, encouragin­g individual­s of all genders and gender expression­s, ethnicitie­s, sizes and disabiliti­es to take part in the nation’s most anticipate­d fashion event and trade platform. I encourage all aspiring models to come along! This is an experience that you will remember for the rest of your lives, and I hope that you will make lifelong friends and connection­s in the process.”

The Fashion Council of Fiji and Fijian Fashion Festival aim to support the growth of fashion businesses, and the broader creative industries by providing training opportunit­ies, access to external markets, and a platform that connects fashion business operators to enthusiast­ic, relevant markets and events.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Fiji