Project Runway's Beau 'I'VE DRESSED ROYALTY!'

The reality star shares why he's forever grateful and how he pays it forward

- Elise Cacace

Since sashaying onto our screens in Project Runway New Zealand in 2018 and capturing the nation’s attention with his striking Pasifika couture, life for designer Beau Louis Takapu has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride.

Launching his own fashion brand, suff ering through a divorce and fi nding solace in charity work, Beau says he’s grown as an individual and is dedicating his latest collection, Forever Grateful, to the people who’ve been with him on this wild ride.

His television debut on season one of Project Runway New Zealand came as a surprise, with his then-husband secretly applying for him, and Beau was quickly shortlisted and accepted onto the show.

“Being on TV filled every spot in my mental health that was possible,” recalls Beau. “I was thinking, ‘Am I good enough? Are people going to think I’m too Tongan or not Tongan enough? What if people think I’m weird?’“ But I can honestly say I’ve learned to love and accept every part of myself. There are a lot of growing pains and learning lessons when you open yourself up to the public.”