This costume titled "Surfer Girl B" was worn in the ceremony by school children in the Oceania section of the Southern Skies part of the Arrivals segment of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. The costume was designed by Australian fashion designer Peter Morrissey and manufactured in the Ceremonies Costume Workshop. It features a photographically printed cotton jersey top and dress.

The costume is part of a set of three Surfer Girl costumes made from a fabric print of a surfing image on a found postcard. Objects 2001/84/222, 2001/84/224 and 2001/84/609 make up the set. A copy of the postcard is 2001/84/556-4 page 60.

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.

Peter Morrissey (born 1962) has been at the forefront of Australian fashion design for over a decade. In the mid 1980s he co-founded the internationally successful Morrissey Edmiston label. With its signature sexy, youthful styles and slick marketing the label attracted a star clientele, which included Michael Hutchence, Elle Macpherson and Nicole Kidman. His designs graced the pages of national and international magazines.

The Morrissey Edmiston partnership dissolved in 1997. In the same year, Peter Morrissey launched a new label MORRISSEY. Under his new label, Morrissey began designing both men's and women's wear that successfully combined wearability with glamour and sex appeal. In November 2000 he sold his fashion business to Oroton International, however he retains creative control over the look of the MORRISEY label.

Morrissey's Summer 2001 collection was previewed at this Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in May 2000. The collection featured a print from an original artwork by indigenous Australian artist Jacinta Numina Waugh. Morrissey discovered Numina Waugh's work through an Aboriginal development unit initiative in Darwin. Morrissey titled the print 'Numina' and decided to also incorporate it into his designs for the Oceania float.

The base colour palette used in the Oceania section was blue. Morrissey highlighted the base colour with darker blue, aqua, white and silver.

In developing the costumes a series of conceptual sketches were presented to Ric Birch, Director of Ceremonies, David Atkins, Creative Director/Producer and Ceremonies Department staff in February 2000. After developing the final sketches, Morrissey and Creative Director Jayson Brunsdon worked at refining the designs based on the choice of wearer.

The Surfer Girl A, B and C costumes are made from a print on fabric of a surfing image on a postcard. When three children wearing versions A, B and C stood together (much of) the full postcard picture was visible.



Maker name Coordinated by Ceremonies Costume Workshop

Worn by child dancers in the Southern Skies section at the end of the Arrivals segment. 1 of 380 from the Oceania segment of the Southern Skies section. There were a 1900 children in total in the Southern Skies section.

Presented to the Powerhouse Museum by the Olympic Coordination Authority, on behalf of the NSW Government

Performance costume, 'Surfer Girl B', fabric, designed by Peter Morrissey, Sydney 2000, Ceremonies Costume Workshop, Redfern NSW, 2000 printed artwork done by Think Positive in Redfern used in Opening Ceremony of Olympic Games, Sydney, 2000, 15th September 2000

Consists of a dress and a pair of shoes. The sleeveless dress is made from cotton that has been printed on the back and front with an image of a surfer riding a wave. The shoes are slip on blue canvas shoes with a white synthetic sole.

Made: 2000

2001/84/224

2000