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Aisea Konrote finds his niche |
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Fashion designers interpret and blend instances of life in their works. Even though the Fiji Fashion Week ended early last month, one emerging fashion designer with the heart and passion for the field is Aisea Konrote who graced the catwalks with his Viti Versace collection for the first time. His designs at the fashion week got heads turning in all directions as he simmered and smothered his works on the catwalk. The brand name for his collection is Hefrani, a Rotuman word for morning star. But the name is one close to his heart as it is also the Rotuman name of his grand niece Karay whom he loves and adores. Originally from Tuoi in Juju, Rotuma, Aisea is a former model and flight attendant whose passion for fashion designing began at an early age. It was only this year that he gathered the courage to showcase what he's longed to do for a very long time - see his designs come to life on the catwalk. And when he finally saw his creations in all its glamour and awe, he knew this was the field fitting for his imaginative and artistic touch in the field of fashion designing. His collection depicted the plentiful resources and natural wealth in Fiji and the Pacific. Natural resources such as coconut fronds and shells were used as accessories on 12 very exceptional designs. In fact, these resources inspired Aisea to combine the tone and colours of nature with his Versace couture collection. "My 11-year old grand-niece is the only person in our family who followed me into the fashion field. She's always with me and she's eager to do everything I do," said Aisea. "My mother was a seamstress so the interest was there when I was young. "I dedicated this collection to my mother who died some years back. "My family and Rosie (Emberson-Semisi) and Hupfield (Hoerder) who came home and saw the outfits. "I am very proud of my collection especially as it is my first time. Hupfeld's belief that success was not winning awards or cash but about seeing your dream materialize gave me great encouragement." At the showing, he found t his to be true, The show was the perfect opportunity to start a business venture and after a successful display at the fashion week, Aisea already has a signed contract for uniforms and two potential clients. It opened up a world he was always interested in but Aisea knows that to be successful in the field, hard work and perseverance are key factors on the runway. He entered the Emerging Designers category and was expected to come up with 12 original designs which he promptly did with the help of close nephews and nieces. Working under time constraints, Aisea missed the opening night of the fashion week on a Friday and completed his last design on Saturday morning for the show later that night. With only $5 in his pocket when he finally reached Denarau where the show was held, he was confident everything would turn out well. And it did. "I did not sew all 12 even though the designs are my originals. I only sewed six and the other six were sewn by my nephew and a close friend," he said. "All I did was put the accessories on. I chose these 12 outfits because of the time frame of six weeks to prepare. "I chose the ones that could be done the quickest but even putting on the accessories was challenging. By the time I got money to purchase my materials, I had only four weeks to prepare the clothes." His collection was centered on the theme 'From Dawn till Dusk - Viti Way' describing the lives of Pacific people and the celebrations of the rhythms of life in harmony with nature. He said the use of glitter, sophistication, hugging designs, elegant figure and the fact that Versace is a personal favourite in haute courture was ideal for his collection. All in all, his collection was a simple reflection of his life - daring to be a different trendsetter. "I was so proud of the outcome. When they called everybody to the catwalk for the finale, I had this feeling of greatness and happiness," he said. "I knew this was another field that matched my passion of flying. I was very happy and there was great response from the public and my friends although most of them were totally surprised. "I was the only male designer in the Emerging category. The rest were all women apart from Carlos Semisi who prints T-Shirts and jeans. "My designs were all bold and very provocative ...but I had to ensure that my designs were not too vulgar and I had to respect the culture we are in." For Aisea, fashion designing is not just about sketching a pretty dress. It's considering factors, environment, natural resources, culture and traditions. He stressed the importance of respectability of cultures, traditions and the use of natural resources. "Our natural resources in Fiji are an oyster for fashion design and I intend to use that. I intend to stay in Fiji and work within the Pacific and Fiji," he said. "I feel comfortable here especially with the resources and materials. If I need some really good material, a trip to Rups or Rosewear would do the trick. "The shirt I wore that night had two shades and it was so grand people were asking where I bought it from. "My nephew and nieces did the shirt for me and I know that a shirt like this abroad would cost $100 but the one I wore didn't cost more than $5 because one shade cost 50 cents while the other was $1.80." In between travels to Suva and Nadi, Aisea savours the moment when natures radiance provides an ounce of inspiration for a next piece. He never duplicates any of his collection simply because of his desire for uniqueness. Thanks to the help of his family members including niece Marayka Konrote Wasile and sponsors Caregivers Services International, Jane Howard, Winnie Veikoso and Rachael Williams, Aisea wouldn't have been able to shine. From Fijitimes Online (14 July 2011) THE Catch of the Night - a red and black off the shoulder dress - for the transgender Amazon category at this year's Crest Fashion Show will be something to look out for next week. Designer Aisea Konrote - known for his signature shell designs - says the frock is red to signify the battle against HIV AIDS. "It has black fish netting for the dark nature of the disease," he said yesterday. Fishing lines and pearls with a hint of neon lights make up the skirt of the costume, he said. "The transgender community is often asked "who is the catch of night?"Aisea said of the Catch of the Night dress. Aisea worked well in advance and is now assisting his niece - a contender for the designers award - as the two compete at this year's Agriculture Crest Fashion Show. He will submit one costume for the recycled category and one for the organic category. "There was no sewing machine used for the recycled category. Everything was women or hand stitched," he said about the costume for the organic category. A blue tarpaulin-made dress - which he has named Ocean Bride - has fish scales pasted along the hemline of what appears to be a joint sulu and chamba dress. "Because we are celebrating nature, blue in the tarpaulin represents the ocean," Aisea said. The show will be held at the Tattersalls Gym next week organised by designer and seamstress Rosie Semisi. |
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