PORTLAND, Ore. — From tropical Tonga to snowy Minnesota, Marcus Alipate has lived around the globe.
His dad is from Tonga and they moved to the Twin Cities when Alipate was 10 years old. He went on to play basketball for the University of St. Thomas.
Tonga, a Pacific Island country located southeast of Fiji, was struck by twin disasters last month when an underwater volcano erupted near the island, triggering a tsunami.
"When I first heard about it, it was tough," Alipate said, noting that some of his family members live there. "It's an island of 100,000 people. It's a beautiful island. Beautiful people. Very tropical. I love where I'm from and I love my ethnicity and culture."
Before this, his own path took a turn. He was playing professional basketball abroad when COVID hit the world.
"COVID hit and canceled our season," Alipate said. "That's kind of what led me to where I'm at right now, at the University of Oregon, one month away from getting my master's."
Through his graduate program, he's gaining product design skills. But he's not waiting for graduation to use them. Last month, he officially launched Smoove, a luxury streetwear brand.
"I think luxury tends to get a bad rap sometimes," Alipate said. "Though you're paying a higher price point, our goal is to make something that can last a long time. We want you to wear this for the next 10, 15-20 years and kind of create this idea of potentially passing it down to the next generation of people."
Alipate says the brand aims to "redefine luxury as being true to yourself." The theme of his first collection of hoodies is roses in honor of Portland, the City of Roses. But as he makes his first sales, he remembers his roots.
"It's kind of like my honor and duty," Alipate said. "As somebody representing Tongan-American, we're actually doing an event. It's going to be a relief concert, a clothing popup, and clothing and shoe drive."
The event will be held Feb. 17 at Morrison Market in Portland. Alipate says proceeds from any online purchases made through the end of February will also go toward relief efforts in Tonga.
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