Nesian’s street and beach clothing has soared in popularity in Tahiti and now it’s coming to Pasifika. 
Owned by Matairea Bessert, it’s the brand worn by some of Tahiti’s top sports stars. From one of the world’s fastest paddlers Tahitian 19-year old Lorenzo Bennett to World Champion Va’a (Waka) Marathon winner Hinatea Bernadino to world ranked wind surfer 16-year old Mathilde Zampieri.
For its first showing at Pasifika Festival, Nesian has created 3 different limited edition custom Tees especially for their first appearance at the Pasifika Business Market at Auckland’s Pasifika Festival this weekend.
Designed in Tahiti and printed in Aotearoa, there are just 70 custom T-shirts per design; the ‘Piece of Paradise’, a white tee with a waterfall printed on the front, in grey ‘Stay True to Your Culture’ with a circular Nesian Logo on the front and a green ‘United by Oceans’ tee – with Nesian’s Sun logo with 3 rays in the form of the Polynesian Triangle.
Although the brand is new to the Kiwi market, there’s a sense of familiarity in its marketing.
From the logo based on the Polynesian triangle following its rays to Hawaii to the North, Aotearoa to the South and Rapanui to the West. The Polynesian legend the of Wheke (Octopus) and its tentacles mirroring the journey of the canoes that travelled throughout the Pacific in 8 different directions using the stars to navigate their way. The stories are told through their designs.
Nesian celebrates its 4th year in business on April 10. They have progressed rapidly in popularity with a strong presence in Tahiti and French Polynesia. They operate their own screen printing factory and they opened their own retail store in Tahiti recently.
But Nesian itself also has a sizeable social media following with more than 25,800 Facebook Likes on it’s page and around 3,600 Instagram followers. Showing online savvy in marketing and underlining how a small business has built an international following from within small Pacific Islands.
But they’re now ready to move into offshore markets and they have chosen Pasifika Festival to take their first dip in the international waters.
Nesian talks about learning about its off-shore cousins in the Pacific by coming to Pasifika Fesitval…”it will be the best way and maybe the only way in one place to learn about our cousin’s culture and maybe discover similarities in Legends, Myths, Words, Arts (tattoo, braiding, local manufacture and more…) providing inspiration in design.
Their ultimate, like all clothing brands is to get international exposure for their brand and find more stories to tell in their future collections.
Nesian offers a full range of Men’s and Women’s clothing on its website and in-store. From Tees, tanks, board shorts, windbreakers, rashies, compression pants and hoodies and tops and tanks for embroidered and heat transfer and limited-edition caps, bracelets, stickers, sunglasses, key rings and PVC patches.
For more information email: Joe Fuavao, Trade Development Manager on joe.f@pacifictradeinvest.co.nz
Pacific Periscope 