Gone are the days of simply walking the runway to showcase a design.
This year, it’s a walk to talk climate change.
PNG Fashion and Design Week will be hosting its runway from the 5th to 7th October with the theme: Fashion x Climate Change.
Incoming CEO Christopher Lam said climate change is a pressing issue that needed to be further known, hence the theme.
He noted PNG, as an island nation, is facing the issue mostly through rising sea levels and unpredictable weather patterns.
“That threatens to cause us to lose our culture, identity and land – things that define us as Papua New Guineans and Pacific Islanders,” Lam said.
As required, the theme will be outlined through the designer collections that will be shown on the runway.
Designers will be encouraged to use sustainable materials in their outfits, telling stories of how climate change is causing changes in culture and the resilience of people in dealing with it.
Even the runway venue set-up of the show will outline the theme.
Director Janet Sios also announced the support of PNG’s Climate Change and Development Authority with this event.
“We’ve been talking with their office, it’s all about sustainability, having ethics and social responsibilities,” Sios said.
She said the platform is an opportunity for the government and stakeholders to bring about awareness and education, not only to designers and models but to the country as a whole.
“We hope that by doing this event, we highlight the crosscutting issue of climate change and the resilience of our people towards it, all while putting on an amazing show to showcase some of PNG’s finest designers,” Sios said.
She also encouraged everyone to take responsibility of the climate change issue.