Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, ca. 1986 – 2025

Fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, was shot to death at a Salt Lake City “No Kings” march on June 14 (a man was threatening the crowd with a gun, and two of the “peacekeepers” sent by the government opened fire, wounding the suspect and killing passerby Ah Loo). The Samoan designer headed the fashion house Afa Ah Loo, and appeared on Project Runway in 2019. His bright, colorful designs were popular with such clients as actress Auli’i Cravalho and director David Derrick; Cravalho posted that “as a Samoan fashion designer, Afa’s creations are and remain thoughtful, elegant and powerful portrayals of Pacific culture.” “I’ve always stayed true to myself,” Ah Loo said. “When I went on Project Runway, that was the one thing I had to constantly remind myself — to not lose myself in the show. So the island boy who left Samoa and moved to Salt Lake City is the same island boy you’ll see today.” His designs, he said, are “very inclusive . . . any type of body, height, gender. I design for anyone and everyone.”