On Friday, Vera wore that gown again while singing for hundreds during the celebration of life Ah Loo’s friends and family organized after he was tragically wounded during the “No Kings” rally June 14. Many joined Vera in donning the tributes to the renowned designer’s style, wearing geometrical prints, flowers, formal wraparound skirts known as ie faitaga, sleek hairstyles, and so, so many of Ah Loo’s gowns.

Laura Ah Loo, his wife, wore a flowy, green dress adorned with a yellow lei. It was one of the best dresses of the night, Telesia Afeaki Tonga, the event’s emcee said, because she was one of his main sources of inspiration. Laura’s voice cracked as she thanked family, friends and fellow protesters for all the love they had received in the last weeks.

“Losing Afa feels like losing the sun, our light, our warmth and our comfort,” Laura Ah Loo said. “It is more devastating than I can ever put into words, because no amount of words can encompass who he was as a person and who he was to me and our babies.”

Ah Loo’s big community gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center’s grand ballroom, a room as big as the presence he had in the Pacific Islander communities in Utah and beyond.

“Of course it had to be in a grand ballroom, like only he would have. Absolutely extra,” Tonga said.

Ah Loo’s participation on “Project Runway” in 2019 expanded his presence in the fashion industry. However, being the first Samoan to participate in the show, among many other feats, made him a point of reference in Polynesian communities. After moving to Utah, he continued weaving his legacy, mentoring anyone with a creative pursuit and supporting the state’s Pacific Islander community though a nonprofit he co-founded, Creative Pacific.

While his job took him to other cities and countries, his greatest joy wasn’t on a runway, but at home with his family, his wife said. And sometimes, at McDonald’s with a large Coke.

“I will miss taking sips of his drinks because I never wanted to order my own, his constant eye rolls at my antics and hearing him speak Samoan, his beautiful singing voice,” Laura Ah Loo said. “And, as he called it, his hyena laugh. But to me, it was the best sound in the world.”

After her loss, Laura Ah Loo has been planning to continue her husband’s work and legacy, a task that now seems impossible to equally replicate. But, she still sees parts of him every day, in their kids’ brown eyes, creativity, “healing hugs,” and “larger than life” personalities, all attributes they share with Ah Loo. Also in the remaining fingerprints he left behind and his voice in all the videos saved in their phones.

Just like Ah Loo did after his fashion shows, Laura Ah Loo walked along a runway, holding Vera’s and her son Isaac’s hands while friends and family gave a standing ovation.

June 14 remains a painful day for his family. But Laura Ah Loo still finds inspiration in the sign he held that day, which read “The world is watching.”

“They were watching then, and they’re watching, certainly watching now. The world is watching how we carry his light, how we treat each other, how each keep choosing love in the face of unthinkable loss, how we raise our children, how we fight for joy in spite of hard times,” she said. “He will not be forgotten.”

Others also took the stage to perform a musical number or a dance, often included in Polynesian funerals, or to tell stories of Ah Loo’s life as a beloved mentor, friend and brother, distinguished by his sense of humor, sarcasm and kindness.

“I see all your posts about him. I see all your tributes about him, and how I’ve sat down several times to write something about him, but I can’t,” his sister Ofeira Asuao said. “There’s just no words for me to explain the impact that he’s had.”

While Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson never met Ah Loo, she said in her remarks that she has come to know his spirit through the love and admiration shown by the community he helped shape.

“I personally am inspired to continue the work he cared about, advocating for equality, embracing creativity and fostering a stronger and more compassionate community for his Pacific Islander friends and beyond,” Wilson said. “Afa, may your light continue to shine and may others be inspired by your fearless advocacy, your life’s mission, love of friends and family and your creative spirit.”

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.