DiscoverCulture CompassProtecting Pacific fashion: How designers are fighting to keep tradition in their hands
Protecting Pacific fashion: How designers are fighting to keep tradition in their hands

Protecting Pacific fashion: How designers are fighting to keep tradition in their hands

Update: 2025-12-01
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Pacific fashion is breaking through on the global stage. But with that spotlight comes a new set of challenges: mass-produced knock-offs, cultural theft, and legal roadblocks that leave creators vulnerable.

So how can creators protect their designs and grow their brands at the same time? Ellen Whippy Knight, the force behind Fiji Fashion Week, says it starts with awareness, education and upskilling.

You'll also hear from Dr Emelihter Kihleng about how the Pohnpei skirt — or urohs — has been threatened by overseas replicas. Plus, Solomon Islands copyright lawyer Maito'o Hauirae breaks down the complex world of intellectual property law in the Pacific.

Join host Afamasaga Seiuli Salamasina von Reiche on this episode of Culture Compass, ABC Radio Australia.

Culture Compass was produced by Deadset Studios for ABC Radio Australia.

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Protecting Pacific fashion: How designers are fighting to keep tradition in their hands

Protecting Pacific fashion: How designers are fighting to keep tradition in their hands

Australian Broadcasting Corporation