Fashion media ‘integral’
Dan Ahwa, the creative and fashion director of The New Zealand Herald, Viva Magazine and the style editor for Canvas magazine.
Patty Huntington is an experienced media professional with more than 30 years of experience in news across print, digital, television and radio in Australia.
FASHION media are an integral part of any fashion week because they bring the world’s attention to the clothes, designers and the venue of the event.
Fiji Fashion Week (FJFW), in the heart of the Pacific is home to the tropical island paradise that designers all over the world often draw from when they produce resort wear.
In recent years big brands, including even active wear manufacturer Nike drew from Pacific cultural motifs.
The masi on Fiji Airways flies all over the world in destinations which are home to big fashion events, promoting motifs which are specific to indigenous culture.
A partnership between Tourism Fiji and FJFW would enable the organisers of the year old event to bring two of Australia’s most important fashion media to Fiji on May 25.
An agreement cementing that partnership was signed in Nadi, Fiji last weekend between FJFW managing director Ellen Whippy-Knight and Tourism Fiji chief executive officer Brent Hill to bring Damien Woolnough and Patty Huntington to Suva.
“Tourism Fiji has made it possible to bring Damien Woolnough, the fashion editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and Patty Huntington, a leading fashion editor and journalist who writes for Women’s Wear Daily, Harper’s Bazaar and is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s fashion correspondent,” Ms Whippy-Knight said.
“This strategic collaboration means the global and very digital mobile fashion community that is watching FJFW x Palmolive 2022 will see through these two leading fashion journalists the exotic location that is destination Fiji.”
Brent Hill said Tourism Fiji was happy to partner with the FJFW team because it was good to have major events happening again in the country.
“It is very significant and important for the world to see events happening here and it’s certainly important for domestic tourism but we are also trying to promote the Fijian Made!” Mr Hill said.
“It is important for tourists to see that what happens in Fiji is multi-faceted. We ask people to come to Fiji with empty suitcases to fill them with Fiji made goods and of course fashion is an incredible part of that ambassadorship.”
He said FJFW helped illustrate Fiji’s continued growth in sophistication and promoted the various layers that made “destination” Fiji.
“We look forward to seeing more tourists supporting FJFW designers and wearing those beautiful clothes.”
Meanwhile the media coming to Fiji are the most senior fashion journalists ever to visit a fashion event in the Pacific.
“For 15 years, FJFW has marketed the “Made in Fiji” brand and also by association, that Fiji is where happiness finds you.
“It is our honour to be able to tell the world through fashion that Fiji is in fact open for happiness.”
Patty Huntington is an experienced media professional with more than 30 years of experience in news across print, digital, television and radio in Australia and on the international scene who has the demonstrated ability to break stories and exclusives.
Ms Huntington’s main area of expertise is the fashion business and its deep connections to both pop culture and current affairs.
She has been a foreign correspondent for her entire career, initially reporting from Paris to Australian publications and subsequently reporting from Sydney to media outlets in the US, Europe and Asia.
She advanced early into the digital space to become one the first to blog professionally for two of Australia’s largest media outlets when social media was first starting. Her stories were frequently picked up by the international media.
Damien Woolnough is the national fashion editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
The Sydney Morning Herald is Australia’s most read news outlet, with an online and print audience of 8.6 million readers. Mr Woolnough is an experienced and respected editor skilled in journalism, social media, digital media, editing, and feature writing.
He is considered one of Australia’s leading fashion journalists with broad experience in lifestyle and luxury.
The two journalists will join Dan
Ahwa, the creative and fashion director of The New Zealand Herald, Viva Magazine and the style editor for Canvas magazine.
Also the fashion editor for The New Zealand Herald, Mr Ahwa, and Mr Woolnough and Ms Huntington will cover FJFW x Palmolive from front row.
However, the leading fashion journalists will also visit fashion students at a Suva high school and provide workshops for the Fijian media, for free.
“We are grateful that Tourism
Fiji recognises the value the cross collaboration can achieve and it is a great honour to be able to bring these media personnel to Fiji to exchange wisdom with our own media,” Ms Whippy-Knight said.
In addition to the journalists, two leading fashion photographers, including Sonny Vandevelde who will be returning from a Dior show will run workshops for her local photographers who wish to cover fashion.
“We have on our team Fiji’s leading fashion photographer Asvin Singh whose own career started with FJFW in 2012,” Ms Whippy-Knight said.
“When he started, there was only a handful of professional photographers and he was the only one doing fashion. We would like to share that knowledge and create wider interest and capability.”
FJFW x Palmolive takes place from May 21 to May 28 with shows on May 27 and 28 at the Vodafone Arena. Fashion media workshops take place on May 25 and May 26 and are open to all content producers.
Contact fjfwmedia@gmail.com and pr@fijifashionweek.com.fj to be part of FJFW media training.
FJFW managing director Ellen WhippyKnight with Tourism Fiji chief executive officer Brent Hill.