When it comes to fashion, Polynesia has pioneered the Pacific's push onto the catwalks of Europe and the world. Western Samoan motifs and designs became a popular export, quickly establishing the country's emerging fashion industry. Now Fiji wants to establish its designers in the world of fashion.

Clement Paligaru: This is the inaugural Fiji Fashion week, an ambitious event showcasing some of the country's emerging and established designers.

Hupfield Hoerder, fashion designer: It's not all about winning. Every designer is very unique - just showcasing your stuff, that means a lot.

Clement Paligaru: Fiji has had fashion shows before. But they have mainly been local fundraising events. With this Fiji joins a global trend - and more than 100 countries which stage their own International Fashion Week.

Ellen Whippy, Fashion Week Executive Producer: Bringing designers out of their shells. They'd been there for a long time but nobody knew where they were.

Clement Paligaru: It's a break from the past, aimed at raising the profile of Fijian designers locally, but importantly, catapulting them overseas.

Ellen Whippy: Not all of them are ready for the international market. But by bringing down people who are fashionistas from the fashion industry international, hopefully they will pick, you know, not everybody but one or two people and say, "look you have got potential".

Clement Paligaru: One of the country's established designers, Hupfield Hoerder, is proving Fijians can make it on the world stage. His creations have been showcased at a major fashion week event in the Bahamas. And he's just been invited to New York Fashion Week.

Hupfield Hoerder: My clothes is very focussed on Pacific and also Western women who are not always size eight, 10, 12, but who are actually rubenesque, who are very filled out.

Clement Paligaru: Former Fijian world windsurfing champion turned designer, Tony Philp, set up his label in Paris - one which deliberately avoids a cliched look.

Tony Philp, fashion designer: We don't want to be seen as something too tropical, that's too ethnic, that's too Fijian. Because if you want to sell Mana Fidji to somebody living in New York then they must be able to identify with it. Like with the shirt I am wearing you have a masi print. These are the small subtle touches that identify the brand with its Pacific origins.

Clement Paligaru: He's returning to Fiji to set up base and hopes to be part of the change he believes is necessary for the industry to take off.

Tony Philp: We're definitely behind the times here. That's an issue. Look around, we're in a very laid back country. People tend to dress down, rather than dress up. So there is a whole mindset that needs to change here.

Hupfield Hoerder: We'd like people to be bold enough to actually wear vibrant colours, sea blue, the tangerine orange and the green.

Clement Paligaru: Fiji's fashionistas are keeping an eye on Samoa, which has a number of successful labels based in New Zealand.

Ellen Whippy: Samoa definitely has a huge advantage. Samoa has New Zealand. And, you know it's like a caretaker country for them. That's why Samoa obviously precedes us. But you know this Fashion Week is really going to show them up.

Clement Paligaru: ...with a little bit of help from some top New Zealand and Australian designers who ran workshops to help emerging designers. Peter Norton of the high end Australian label Saba focussed on marketing.

Peter Norton, fashion designer: I spoke to the guys today around creative expression of ideas that is tangible to an editor or a fashion journalist, or advertising campaign or something like that.

Clement Paligaru: Designer Elizabeth Findlay is behind New Zealand's Zambesi label.

Elizabeth Findlay, fashion designer: I started very small, without formal training. The label has grown out of a passion for creating clothes. It's very much a design led business. And I think, that I felt that people that were here today were very similar to myself in the early days, where they just have a passion to create, design and begin something, you know, start something.

Clement Paligaru: Fiji's Fashion Week is a showcase of the country's best designs. The organisers, designers and models put on a great show. But when it's all over, will it have any impact?

Ellen Whippy: I want to see all those models in Paris. I want to see all those designers in internships all over the world. Because that's what we need.