Three Generations of the Anana women from Pire Village in Kavieng, New Ireland Province are emerging new designers thanks to the PNG Fashion and Design Week’s 2020 Fashion Festival Workshop.
It all started with Lyniata Anana from the now renowned Dahana Haus Designs.
In 2016, Lyniata started sewing meri blouses to support her young family. She sewed Meri Blouses, Laplaps and T-shirts. Soon there was a demand for her products but she didn’t really know how to market her products or come up with other styles of garments and designs.
At that time, it was just a means to support her family, it wasn’t until 2019, when she saw online the 2019 Fashion Festival Workshop for Kokopo. Lyniata applied online and was accepted.
“I took a boat from Namatanai to Kokopo to attend the workshop and it opened doors for me to a whole new world, I never knew that there were platforms out there, market out there, where I could actually design and sew various types of garments with my own textile designs on it.”
“I had the ideas, but it was like, I just needed someone to help me find a way to bring those ideas to life,” she said.
Lyniata’s mother Janet Anana and her 12-year-old daughter Leilahnie are two of 54 participants now attending the 2020 Fashion Festival Workshop in Kavieng, New Ireland Province.
12-year-old Leilahnie has always loved fashion, she started drawing various styled dresses since she was four years old and always helped her mum with her sewing business and now the Dahana Haus Designs.
“I’ve always loved drawing dresses and watching my mum sew, I help out where I can and hope to one day become like her.”
“I want to learn as much as I can from this workshop so that I can assist her with her Dahana Designs but one day when I’m old enough I would like to start my own design and fashion brand,” she said.
Lyniata’s mum, Janet says that they decided to sign up for the workshop because she wanted to know and to understand what her daughter was doing.
“In 2019, Lenita after hearing that the workshop would be held in Kokopo, took a boat to Kokopo from Namatanai just to attend the workshop.”
“Today, she has her own brand- Dahana Haus Bilas, as her mother, I want to be able to help her and support her.”
“My grand-daughter Leilahnie, who is 12 years old, we both decided to sign up so that I could help my daughter and she could help her mother.”
“And we are so grateful to be a part of this workshop, I want to acknowledge and thank Mrs Janet Sios and the PNG Fashion and Design Week, the Provincial Government and the Australian Government for supporting this project through the PNG-Australia Partnership Program,” she said.
The three Anana Women also thanked Trainer Anna Amos from AA Tribal for making the time and having the heart to impart and share her knowledge and skills with Papua New Guineans nationwide.
Amos who has just completed her nine days training of garment coloration, pattern cutting, textile designs and garments constructions says that she is more than honored to see three generations of women benefiting from the PNG-Australia Partnership Program.
“This is the dream, this is why I do this, and I am just so happy to see that these three women, Janet Anana her daughter Lyniata and grand-daughter Leilahnie been a part of the 2020 PNG Fashion Festival Workshop.”
“It’s all about making a difference and imparting skills and knowledge that will help others to sustain themselves,” she said.