| Get Wrapped
With cloths wrapped around their heads, Middle Eastern men and African women cool off while looking distinct and smart. Africa’s Kalabari women pleat, fold, and wrap extra layers of cloth under outer garments to create their culture’s ideal full, rounded body. It was all part of the fun during the 2-day “Get Wrapped: An International Celebration of Clothing and Food,” hosted this fall by the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences School of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS). International clothing and textile expert Joanne B. Eicher, University of Minnesota Regents professor and author, presented slides and made intriguing comparisons during her talk, ”The Display of Skin: From Africa to the Academy Awards.” UI students
and friends modeled ”It’s an opportunity to study diversity in a unique medium,” added Nancy Wanamaker, UI FCS school director. “That’s what’s exciting.” Food included trays of international wrapped specialties—crepes, blintzes, nori rolls, Mediterranean and Thai wraps. The event is thanks to the Margaret Ritchie Distinguished Speaker Fund, honoring the late UI professor and former head of the Home Economics Department. She served the University of Idaho from 1938 to 1959. Photos by Joe Pallen, UI Photo Services. © 2003 University of Idaho, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. |
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Take
a handsome piece of cloth, wrap it just so, and you’ve got
an elegant sari from India, or an Indonesian sarong, adopted for
popular Western beach wear.
Volunteer
UI students modeled clothes from their own wardrobes, from UI International
Programs culture kits, or from the UI’s theatre department,
while Sandra Evenson, UI associate FCS professor, explained how
individuals in many cultures dress for protection, show their status,
or wear clothes as art—the same messages, but said in countless
ways. “We’re not trying to group students by whether
they are Saudis or Guatamalans, but by similarities in the style
of their clothing, and how a style has moved across the world,”
said Evenson.
