Playing it slow: the future of Pasifika fashion
2 — 3pm
Event Details
Join Pasifika designer duo Lavinia Ilolahia and Talia Soloa as they have an in-depth kōrero about Layplan and Aotearoa New Zealand’s fashion industry with Jessica Palalagi.
Programmed as part of Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda, in this kōrero Lavinia and Talia will discuss how their own feminist agenda as proud Pasifika women has helped shape the principles and ethos of the Layplan brand. While slow fashion, sustainability and inclusivity are current fashion buzzwords, Lavinia and Jessica will discuss their approach to making fashion accessible in Aotearoa.
This discussion is proudly presented by fashion and culture platform Ensemble.
Image credits:
Lavinia Ilolahia and Talia Soloa - Dannielle Bishara
Jessica Palalagi - Stuff
Layplan - Dannielle Bishara
- Date
- Location
- Level 2, Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda
- Cost
- Free - bookings essential
Explore Further
Talia Soloa & Lavinia Ilolahia
Talia Soloa and Lavinia Ilolahia are friends and founders of Layplan, a slow fashion label. Layplan offers another look at the essential wardrobe, functioning in the space between bold and femme to bring the story of true inclusivity to a community who cares about conscious, carefully considered garments made in Aotearoa.
Soloa and Ilolahia’s slow and considered operation is shaped by their Pasifika heritage, which has taught them that slow is, and should be, a cultural norm. They come from people that naturally extend the life of everything, not just clothing, and so want to pay homage to their ancestors. They hope that by putting their art into the world and taking their place in the industry as proud Pasifika women, they are putting a stake in the ground for many to come.
Image credit: Dannielle Bishara
Jessica Palalagi
Jessica Palalagi was born in Aotearoa New Zealand and traces her ancestry to Niue/Nukututaha in Te moana-nui-a-Kiwa and Aberdeen, Scotland. She has a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Auckland and is currently the kaiwhakahaere (general manager) of the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. A founding member of In*ter*is*land Collective, Jessica writes, makes little moving images, sometimes has the patience to draw, and is in love with trying to create expansive and immersive works. A Gemini sun, she’s obsessed with the duality of all things, but ironically is terrified of doppelgängers. She is made of the saltiness of all moana spanning the hemispheres, the journeys that her ancestors navigated, the movements of dark to light made by the mahina (moon), the languages that have been lost, the strength of the matriarchs before her and the music of Barry White.
Image credit: Stuff
