Papua New Guinea Hosts Inaugural Pacific Fashion Summit as PNG Fashion Week Brings the Region Together

PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA — As Papua New Guinea marked 51 years of independence, PNG Fashion Week brought the region together for its inaugural Pacific Fashion Summit. Held at APEC Haus on 18 and 19 September 2026, the Summit convened designers, entrepreneurs, cultural creatives and industry leaders to consider how Pacific fashion can grow as a creative and commercial force.

Presented as the first gathering of its kind in the Pacific, the Summit placed Papua New Guinea at the centre of a regional conversation about the industry’s future. Thirteen Pacific Island participants contributed to PNG Fashion Week’s wider program, while Summit speakers from Papua New Guinea and abroad exchanged perspectives on enterprise, market access, cultural responsibility and the next generation of talent.

The Summit was part of GENESIS, PNG Fashion Week’s 2026 program. Together with the runways and Pacific Fashion Markets, it transformed an independence celebration into an opportunity for regional exchange. It created a space to examine what designers and makers need beyond visibility: viable businesses, stronger industry relationships and pathways to reach new markets.

The opening panel, The Business of Fashion, brought together Philma Kelegai, Founder and Managing Director of PNG Fashion Week; Roylinda Kisambo, a marketing and sales strategist with Baosen International; Sunia Tubuna of Fiji; and Louis Sivina of Jacks of PNG. Their conversation explored how emerging designers can develop their creative work into sustainable enterprises and build lasting relationships with buyers, retailers and commercial partners.

Sunia Tubuna and Roylinda Kisambo continued that discussion in Fashion Supply Chains and Market Access, joining Judy Ejampi of Lufa Baskets and Jesse Mopio of SME Corporation. The panel examined the capabilities required to move from making to market, including production consistency, business readiness and access to the networks that support growth. In Media, Storytelling and Influence, Dagia Akai, David Kila-Pat, Leilani Konjib, Andrew Kuliansi and Tiare Vaai discussed how Pacific creatives can strengthen their visibility while retaining ownership of the stories and identities behind their work.

The second day turned to the people and principles on which a lasting industry depends. Emotional Intelligence and Professionalism brought Nini Eri of Australia, Philma Kelegai, Judy Ejampi and Dagia Akai into conversation about leadership, trust and effective collaboration. Sustainable Fashion and Cultural Responsibility featured Elizabeth Omeri and Yulia Hadi of Indonesia, who considered how design can honour cultural knowledge while responding to the responsibilities of resource use and environmental stewardship. The closing panel, Youth Talent and the Next Generation, brought together Sam Tupou, Kuri Endopio, Tiare Vaai of Samoa and Andrew Kuliansi to discuss the opportunities young people need to enter the industry and help lead it.

Across six panels, participants contributed experience spanning fashion, business, media and cultural practice. Their conversations revealed the breadth of work required to build a stronger Pacific fashion sector, from commercial capability and supply chains to professional networks, cultural stewardship and youth development. Contributions from Sunia Tubuna, Nini Eri and Tiare Vaai brought perspectives from Fiji, Australia and Samoa into that exchange in Port Moresby.

For Papua New Guinea, hosting the inaugural Summit was an opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to convene the region around a shared creative ambition. For Pacific participants, it offered a place to exchange knowledge, establish relationships and begin addressing challenges that extend beyond any one designer or market.

PNG Fashion Week acknowledges the support of the New Zealand High Commission in Papua New Guinea, which helped bring the Pacific Fashion Summit to fruition.

PNG Fashion Week hopes to make the Summit an annual gathering in Papua New Guinea, providing a continuing forum for Pacific creatives and industry partners to develop ideas into partnerships and practical opportunities. As GENESIS honoured 51 years of independence, the inaugural Summit looked to the future the region can build together.