Costume design for Pageant of British Queens, 'Gailliard Dancer'

item details

NameCostume design for Pageant of British Queens, 'Gailliard Dancer'

ProductionMollie Rodie Mackenzie; artist; 1939; Wellington

Classificationdrawings, design drawings, fashion illustrations

Materialspaper, poster colour, ink

Materials Summaryposter paint on paper

Techniquesillustration

DimensionsOverall: 249mm (width), 335mm (height)

Registration NumberGH016497

Credit lineGift of Marion F. Mackenzie (née Rodie), 2009

Overview

This costume sketch was created by Mollie Rodie for the 'Spirit of Empire' pageant held as part of the Wellington Centennial Exhibition, November 1939 - March 1940.

The pageant included a parade of British queens and ballets. The pageant was so successful that the costumes were reused again for a Red Cross pageant in September 1940, and again for the 'Procession of Queens of Britain' at the Victory Queen Carnival grand finale, Wellington Town Hall, June 1941.

Pageants and queen carnivals were popular ways to raise money during the Second World War (1939-45).

Elizabethan inspiration

The Evening Post reported on the final costumes worn by the dancers: 'They wore Elizabethan costumes of old gold satin with slashed sleeves and ruffs, the full skirts were looped up over kirtles to reveal black petticoats, on which, embroidered in white, were dramatic heraldic designs of the lion and the unicorn. Their satin turban head-dresses were of Moorish inspiration' (27 November 1939).