The 'Charlotte' gown was designed by Australian fashion designer Peter Morrissey and manufactured in the Ceremonies Costume Workshop. The gown featured on the Oceania float in the Arrivals segment of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. It was worn by and is named after TV celebrity Charlotte Dawson.

The costume features a fitted leotard with a plunging neckline. The leotard is covered with blue ostrich feathers and large plumes. A train made from blue turkey boas attaches around the waist of the wearer.

The costume is accessorised with silver plated necklace, cuffs and earrings. The jewellery was developed by Peter Morrissey in consultation with jewellery designer Peter Lang. It is based on the MORRISSEY jewellery collection released to complement Peter Morrissey's Summer 2001 collection which also featured the 'Numina' print.

The hair design featured the insertion of hairpieces, feathers and rhinestones and was developed by Renya Xydis in collaboration with Morrissey.

The Opening Ceremony Context

The Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games comprised three major sections: mandatory formalities and protocol sections, the cultural display and the entrance of the athletes.

The Arrivals segment was part of the cultural display of the Opening Ceremony. This segment aimed to produce a theatrical representation of Australia's multiculturalism. The programme for the Olympic Opening Ceremony states: The history of Australia is the history of migration. We have come from all corners of the planet to form a vibrant, culturally rich and constantly evolving society. In this segment, a new group of arrivals form the Olympic symbol that unites the five continents of the world. They disperse, leaving behind their children - our hope for the future. More children appear until two thousand gather to form the pattern of the night sky, containing the distinctive Southern Cross constellation.

The Arrivals segment saw five floats each representing a continent enter the arena. Each float carried performers in costumes inspired by the continent. Using the symbolism of the colours of Olympic rings, each continent/float was represented by a colour. Black was used to represent the African nations, yellow the Asian nations, red the Americas, green was used for Europe and blue for Oceania, which includes Australia

The costumes for each float were designed by prominent Australian fashion. Fashion designers rather then theatrical costume designers were used to provide a contemporary, cutting edge, high fashion look to the costumes. The designers were Jenny Kee (Africa and Americas), Lisa Ho (Asia), Norma Moriceau (Europe) and Peter Morrissey (Oceania).

Performers for the segment were selected from schools, community groups and from cultural and ethnic support groups. Approximately 500 performers danced around and on each of the five floats in the costumes created by the designers.

Source:

Powerhouse Museum