TENNZ touring exhibition brief

Exhibition Title/subtitle A 1970s Revolution in Fashion

Current status Currently Available

Description The Age of Aquarius is a new 'pop up' exhibition curated by the New

Zealand Fashion Museum [est. 2010]. It follows Looking Terrific: the

Story of El: Jay [Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland, June - July 2010 and

Kirkcaldie and Stains, Wellington,Sept – Oct 2010], Black in Fashion

[Britomart, Auckland, Sept–Oct 2011 andMuseum of Wellington City

and Sea, Feb - March 2012] and most recently HOME SEWN: Original

New Zealand Fashion, winner of the 2013 Museums Aotearoa Award for

Exhibition Excellence, [Auckland, Sept 2012, Whangarei Art Museum

Dec 2012 – Feb 2013, Dunedin Public Art Gallery 9th March - 14th April

2013, the Dowse Art Museum, Aug 9th – Nov 24th 2013].

AGE OF AQUARIUS

"When the Moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars,

then peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars"

James Rado and Gerome Ragni, ’Age of Aquarius’, from the musical Hair

Flares, platforms, hand-painted muslin tunics, crushed velvet,

embroidered jeans and shirts, long hair, op-shop frocks, Liberty prints,

empire line dresses, skinny rib tank tops, aviator sunglasses, peasant

skirts, unisex t-shirts: this is what the 1970s looked like in New Zealand.

Whether this summation causes cringe or happy nostalgia will depend

upon your age and where you were in the 1970s. If you were young,

optimistic and embraced the era as the dawning of the Age of Aquarius

you will remember the decade as a dynamic time, a time when the

social status quo was being challenged. The 1970s brought social

upheaval, with many questioning the validity of the prevailing post-war

culture: comfortable, suburban, consumerist.

Young women were asking why their lives should be limited to child rearing and

homemaking and why when they did participate in the work force they were being paid

less than their male counterparts. Young men were asking why we were fighting an

American led war in Vietnam, and why they should be conscripted for military training in

the first place. Everyone questioned how “safe” the testing of French nuclear weapons

was if they were doing it our Pacific neighbourhood rather than their own backyard. And

closer to home we had decided that we were not prepared to sacrifice our natural

environmental assets, the pristine shores of Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau, in order to

provide cheap electricity that would generate profits for a foreign owned aluminium

company.

We were coming to the realisation that we needed to formulate our own views and to

look our own capabilities and resources for our future well-being both at home and in the

world. The social climate was ripe for creative local solutions and that was reflected in the

fashion of the day, both in what we wore and in the way our clothes were being made and

sold.

The Age of Aquarius exhibition provides a platform to see and experience New Zealand in

the 1970s through the wardrobes and stories of six individuals, and through examples of

six different modes of fashion making. They represent the diversity that existed and the

trends that were prevalent. The consciousness-raising espoused by the women's liberation

movement had clearly found purchase with our group, where regardless of marital status

all were working. The experience of the one man profiled in this exhibition shows that

there were also benefits for men that arose from social equity for women, because it

removed some of the pressure on them to be the sole providers for a household, and

allowed them to indulge their own interests.

Geoffrey Bailey was 36 at the beginning of the decade and worked for the civil service, but

outside of work he expressed his passion for clothes. Eloise Watts was 54 in 1970 and

together with her husband Vic was the proprietor of the London Bar on Wellesley St, a

working life that required a glamorous, yet practical, wardrobe. Kathie Figgins was 25 and

working as medical laboratory technician in 1970. Although she had married in 1968 she

continued to work and earn her own income, which she put partly towards clothes.

Rachel Stace was 20 when she left home and moved to Auckland. Parties, weddings, music

gigs and the like were motivation and inspiration for purchasing something new and for

dressing up. Rachel (1973) is our cover girl. Anita Arlov was a 13 year old student in 1970

in Christchurch and shares her wardrobe over a decade of growing up. Also living in that

city, Zora Price was a 39 year old and spent the 1970s working as a teacher, a dressmaker,

a housewife and a mother of three girls.

While each expression of identity is different and personal, each of these people shared a

time and place, and illuminate the sociological influences that impacted the entire culture

at the time. These signs of the times reached into all forms of cultural expression including

what we wear, and also, importantly, how our clothes were being made and sold.

Established manufacturers like El Jay, Society, Southwell and House of Raymonde, which

had developed a loyal client base, continued to flourish by following the fashion of the day

and delivering it to their customers. There also emerged a new breed of manufacturers,

keen to take a different approach and to cater to an increasingly educated, informed, well-

travelled and youthful clientele. Labels like Peppertree, Miss Deb, Attic 80, Fotheringay

and Hullabaloo targeted this younger set, while labels like Bendon were agile enough to

change their product to suit the changing market.

High-end couturiers like Colin Cole continued to successfully occupy the glamorous end of

the spectrum while responding to changing demand by adding ready to wear. But the

avant garde of couture was led by a new generation epitomised by Annie Bonza who

combined the skills of couture cutting and making with the application of contemporary

artistic embellishments using colour blocking, appliqué and cornelli techniques.

Customisation was a strategy that many of the aspiring designers of the day followed,

bypassing the limitations of available fabrics to create their own original garments using

materials that were hand-woven, appliquéd, printed, painted or embroidered. These

designers made and sold their work through various models such as textile dyer and

printer Susan Holmes who sold through artisan market Brown's Mill. Others

like Linda Evans and Mary Jane and Phil O'Reilly sold through emporia, either small local

shops or larger venues like Cook St Market. Still others chose the model of an independent

boutiques. Wendy Ganley of Elle boutique is a noteable example, as is Laraine Flowers of

Petrouska. There were others who joined forces such as the group who sold through

Tigermoth or Virginia King who was sold her designs through Nova.

By the end of the era it was widely accepted that different styles of clothing and of making

and retailing could co-exist and that it was possible for everyone to choose clothes that

expressed your individuality.

A new reader in the Fashion Museum series about the 1970s is for sale at the exhibition.

Dates Open at (insert your venue) 14th September - 13th October 2013 at the Geyser Building 100

Parnell Rd, Auckland. Mon – Sat 10 – 4.30 pm

Size In our current confirguration with full mannequins it occupies 277m2

Cost $7000,- plus GST for 3 months then $1000 plus gst for each additional month

Content Exhibition package that NZFM can supply

• up to 57 outfits of original NZ made garments of the 1970s• exhibition label texts in the form on 13x AO poster finished

artwork supplied or actual printed posters can also be supplied at cost.

• Exhibition handout / catalogue files • 12 female tailors forms and 1x male tailors form with stands• 1 hero shot mannequin for window or entrance display• associated ephemera of 1x women's lib singlet, 17x protest

badges, assorted shoes and bags as required• exhibition logo and imagery for signage and promotion• Photographic images for facebook and other promotional

campaigns• Curatorial oversight for installation [required minimum x 1 day

visit]

Size for Freighting

Merchandise Exhibition reader from the FM series, RRP $20.00

Other Fashion Museum publications available for sale if desired

Availability dates between

1st November 2013 and 3rd Feb 2014

23rd May 2014 and 30th November 2014

Number of objects Up to 57 outfits

Target audience General. It is intended to draw in a broad audiences by appealing to a sense of nostalgia while also reaching out to the new generation on two fronts – current fashion trends are embracing the silhouette, prints and bold colours of the 1970s so the exhibhtion is very fashionable, and it is also relevant for those young people who are interested in the exploration of alternative lifestyles and modes of engagement with society and culture empowering them with knowledge of their own histories presented in an accessible way

Special requirements The host institution will supply

• Public liability insurance and insurance cover for the exhibition content from the time it leaves NZFM storage until the time of its return.

• A suitable, safe and inviting venue• An appropriate marketing programme for the success of the

exhibition• All transportation costs [we recommend Apparelline as a very

cost effective supplier of the required transportation services].

Other Notes The exhibition can be tailored to the needs of the host institution, which may like to edit or add to the exhibition content in consultation with the NZFM. See Dunedin version of HOME SEWN.

Additionally the NZFM can facilitate arrangements for the supply of additional tailors forms and /or mannequins for the display of the garments

Touring Institution New Zealand Fashion Museum Charitable Trust

Contact Doris de Pont

Title Exhibition Curator and Trustee

Phone 09 3760929

Email doris@nzfashionmuseum.org.nz