Topic Choices for Final Research Paper
Talia Brits
History of Fashion Lec/Rec
Professor Morano/Golde
September 25 2017
Image(s) 1:
- Karen Brits, 19 years old, at a waterpark outside of Wilderness, South Africa. The year is 1988, and it is the middle of the summer (December). The swimsuit she is wearing is a Calvin Klein look-alike, bought at superstore called Pick ‘N Pay. She has just completed a year in the army in George, and is going to be starting her Occupational Therapy degree in Bloemfontein in January. Karen did not come from a wealthy family, so she often bought designer look-alikes or made her own look-alikes.
- I found this image interesting for a number of reasons. One of the first being that my Mom was my age in this photograph. Another being that the waterpark atmosphere is very different to that that you would find today. You can see that the waterpark is also fairly new, with the bright colors of the slides not faded from the sun and the newly-planted trees and plants making up the surrounding areas. This evoked the memory of going to the South African public playgrounds as a kid, because they had similar slides that seemed as tall as a water park’s slides to me at the time. I also adore the candid-feeling that these pictures have, posed but not ready for the shot.
- This swimsuit captures the simplistic, minimalist design aesthetic that can be seen in many of my designs and what I hope to keep as my core designing principles in the field one day. I often use series photos when doing projects with photography, so I also love how there are two poses in the same environment in the same suit.
Image(s) 2:
- Karen Brits, 23 or 24 years old, modeling for the annual Occupational Therapy fashion show at the University of the Free State hosted by Foschini. She is wearing a Foschini dress and Pierre Cardin shoes. These photos were taken in 1991 or 1992 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She was in her junior or senior year in college, working at a pharmacy when she was not in class. Although an informal show, you can see the traditional, raised ‘catwalk’ that was an essential identifier of a fashion show in the 80s and 90s.
- The striking dress was the first thing that drew me to these pictures, and I could just imagine what a statement this must have been in the early 90s. I also loved the glimpse of another model in one of the pictures, and how this distinguished the stage from, say, a pageant show from a fashion show. By seeing the other model in the photo, I see a common theme of short, closed-toe heels and dresses with patterns. I was also drawn to the distant background of this image, and how interior design and architecture of this time period can be observed and compared to similar spaces today.
- I am not a personal fan of contrasting and clashing patterns, so I do not think this necessarily relates to my design aesthetic or work. The contrasting pattern does remind me of one project I did, with a bright kiwi print behind an oil pastel depiction of Nelson Mandela. I do admire the dress for the time period that the photo is from, and love to see similar fits and cuts coming back into fashion today.
Image(s) 3:
- This is Karen Brits, standing outside a A-Frame vacation home in Durban, South Africa in 1990. The origin or designer of her outfit is unknown, but this was a typical seaside vacation outfit in the 90s.
- I love the pose that my mom is doing in the second photo, it reminds me of the ‘duckface selfie’ I used to adore in middle school. I also love the car in the first photo because it gives perspective of how long ago this photo was taken!
- This outfit relates very closely to my personal style- I would wear this exact outfit today!
Here is the PDF version of my assignment
