Five
people reflect on what clothes meant to them in the last century.
The
Blackshirts ListenRead
Renzo Lodoli was only twenty three in 1935 when he went to
Ethiopia with the Italian army. Part of the uniform he and
his fellow volunteers had to wear was the black shirt; the
garment that had become synomous with the fascist regime of
Benito Mussolini. Renzo describes what wearing the black shirt
was like and tells the story of how it came to be an important
political symbol for the fascists.
Lifting
The Veil ListenRead
Afsana
Safa is a teenager living in Britain with parents who originally
came from Bangladesh. Afsana has been wearing a headscarf
since she was twelve years old. She's sees it as a symbol
of her muslim identity and is proud of who she is and believes
everyone should be allowed to feel comfortable with what they
wear regardless of religion or race.
Traditional
Ways ListenRead
Reiko Nebashi talks about the kimoni which she is preparing
to wear for her wedding day. The silk costume was given to her
by her grandmother for her coming of age party and cost $10,000.
She describes the rituals of a Japanese wedding and the beautiful
patterns and embroidery on her silk kimono. Only unmarried women
can wear long-sleeved kimonos such as hers and she says that
she'll miss it once she is married.
Swinging Sixties ListenRead
The British fashion designer Mary Quant created the mini-skirt
and the look to go with it that took the sixties by storm. Mary
says she was born with a desire to design clothes and knew from
an early age the look she wanted to create. The mini-skirt provoked
strong reactions - young people rushed to her shop to buy it
and bowler-hatted gentlemen banged on the window in disapproval.
The
Dressmaker's Story Listen
Read
Margery Liwali and her children arrived in Gambia as refugees
from Sierre Leone with only the clothes they stood up in. But
Margery had her trade as a seamstress to fall back on. She talks
of the ups and downs of her life as a dressmaker and is thankful
that she is able to earn a living and feed her children by making
clothes for others.
Listen
