Samoan Designer pays tribute to her mother

By Sarafina Sanerivi 06 November 2016, 12:00AM

Pearl Passi Sheck of Sofa’i Creation is overwhelmed with excitement after putting her fashion line out in an international arena.

She had just returned back to the country after participating in the Pacific Runway Fashion in Sydney Australia. 

She wowed the audience and the judges of the first ever Samoa Fashion Week this year, and she has done it again after showcasing her work in an international fashion arena. 

And today, she has every right to be grateful now that her fashion line is out there in the international market. 

Mrs. Sheck won a spot to participate in the Pacific Runway Fashion after winning the Established Designer Category of the Samoa Fashion Week in September this year. 

The 44-year-old mother of seven immediately credits God for her success.

“I went to Australia to kill birds with one stone,” she told the Sunday Samoan. 

“The two birds I wanted to kill were to represent Samoa and show everyone that there is great talent in Samoa in the fashion industry. Secondly I wanted to put my mother’s name out there for people to see. She passed down this talent to me and she mothered me to be the person I am today and I wanted to honor her name and memories.” 

“And the stone is God. He was my solid foundation and I went to Australia with nothing but His name and grace.”

Mrs. Sheck said the whole experience was overwhelming for her. “The excitement started as soon as we got on to the plane. And when we landed, it was overwhelming. Standing there next to the other 20 participants was just amazing. Although most of them had massive and great support from their governments and big companies in their countries, that didn’t stop us from doing what we went there to do and that is to show people what Samoa can offer. “ 

“Most of them came with the power of the government and wealth but as for us, we didn’t have anything. We took God with us and He was at the forefront of our trip. That was all we had.”

“Even though we didn’t have the same support from the government like the other countries, but we went there for a purpose and we achieved that. We went there to represent Samoa and our families.”

Mrs. Sheck was accompanied by Cecilia Keil of Cecilia Fashion House and Dane Fabricius of D.M.F Fashion House. 

And according to Mrs. Sheck, the Samoans rocked the pavilion and there was a lot of great feedback from the audience on the variety of their fashion lines. 

“God helped us through it. I know He was our main source of strength. We wanted to show that Samoans are very talented and we went on behalf of our people and our fashion industry.” 

“We all have different signatures and different designs and patterns.” 

But we were all there for one purpose and that was to tell and show everyone that Samoa is rich in talent and fresh ideas. 

“We prayed before we went to Sydney. We didn’t ask God for anything else other than to just give us a light. To shine his light on us so that through our work, people can sees that He made it happen for us.”

She also wants to acknowledge the great help of Cecilia Keil throughout their whole trip. 

 “I take my hat off to her,” said Mrs. Sheck. 

“She has been like a mother figure since day one. She is an amazing person and with her help, we were able to fit in and had the job done. I want to thank her for taking care of us and for helping us the whole time we were there. She spent most of her time there worrying about me and Dane and made sure that we were okay.” 

“There was warmth and we found comfort in each other’s company. A lot of Samoans there in Australia were so happy and proud of what we showed. And I am grateful for that.”

“It was my first time in the Pavilion and I tell you that I felt the excitement when it was Samoa’s turn. We rocked the Pavilion and we are just so very grateful to God for his talents.” 

“We didn’t think a lot of people would like our work, but the feeling was just amazing. We could feel the vibration of the house from all the screams from the people not only Samoans but also people from the other countries.”

She smiled reflecting back to the night of show saying that that will be an experience she will always remember. 

“On the night of the show, everything was just so amazing,” she said. 

“I was still at my corner looking at the other designers and other people with all their jewelry. It made me nervous, but then I said a little prayer to God to help me and give me to courage to face people and to do what I went there to do.” 

“It was hard, it wasn’t easy, but it was all worth it. It was an experience I will always look back to and smile. I never thought I would come this far, but God’s helped us through it all.” 

“And if I have to stay back next year and give the opportunity to the other local designers to go, I would be honored. Because I want my other sisters here and brothers to have such an amazing show. I want them to experience what I experienced as well.” 

“No words cannot express how grateful I am to have that opportunity to go out there and show my work internationally.”

And now that it is all over, Mrs. Sheck is grateful that she was able to put her mother’s name out there, internationally. 

“I had only one thing in mind. I only wanted to put my mother’s name out there for people to know.” 

“She passed on this talent to me, and I wanted to pay tribute to her memories and do justice for all the hard work she had done for me and my siblings. I didn’t ask God for money, but instead I asked him to help me get my mum’s name out there. She was a silent worker and she was a hard working woman who did everything for the sake of her children and family.” 

“And that was it. I just wanted to represent Samoa and my mother.”

Finally, she wanted to thank everyone for their support. 

She particularly wanted to acknowledge the Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters (S.A.M.E) for their last minute help and stepping in to help them. “They gave us $1,000 AUS for food and I want to thank them for that.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 06 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>