OUR MISSION
To inspire women, to continue to challenge themselves, create new goals and to be a positive influence on their families, their friends and the wider community.
It's a Celebration of Life...
to celebrate who we have become...
and where we can still go!
OUR BACKGROUND & MOTIVATION
In 2003 an amazing woman, mother, daughter and friend, lost her lengthy battle with cancer. Barb showed, through her strength and passion for living, the importance of embracing and acknowledging life - each stage of it - and the corresponding challenges of those stages.
Some years ago a group of women met when their daughters were dancing with Deneze School of Dance. During that time they danced together, organised shows together, and - along with their children - became close-knit friends. The children grew up, the dancing slowed and the shows were no more; but the bond remained strong.
Inspired by the memory of their dear friend Barb, this group of enthusiastic and talented women, with strong backgrounds in the arts, joined together to put on a show to celebrate and showcase women’s talents and the passion for life.
They didn’t stop there. There have now been three dynamic Tarnished Frocks and Diva shows – so good they’ve been sell-outs. And the crowds want more. The next spectacular is destined for September 2011.
The inaugural show
Tarnished Frocks and Divas took the form of a Performing Arts Exhibition and Fashion Show - with a difference! The fashion theme focuses on retro clothing, creatively revamped and reworked into contemporary styles.
The aim was to inspire women to be creative, expressive, imaginative, and have fun. All Tarnished Frocks and Divas sections are performed by women older than 40 who have emerged from the retro era, adding authenticity to the performance.
These local talented women put together an exciting, stimulating and ultimately successful show that included:
Models: who wore retro clothes from the 40s, 50s and 60s that had been redesigned into contemporary styles.
Dancers: who introduced each clothing section using movement and narrative dance choreography.
Backstage Support: that was provided by women who had their own battles with breast cancer.
Hair & Make-up: that was supported by local business people who volunteered their time and labour.
The show also featured national celebrity guests who epitomized the overall vision of celebrating life. The unique talents of Jackie Clarke (singer/cabaret/theatre/performing artist) and Elena (New Zealand Symphony Orchestra violinist) inspired, enriched and entertained the audience.
Second Show
Bolstered by the success of that first show the same women went on to produce a second event. This built on, enhanced and strengthened the Western Bay of Plenty arts movement with a unique form of creativity. It explored and promoted the ethnic diversity of our culture. Audiences were once again inspired and the show fueled their interest and passion in the Arts.
Tarnished Frocks and Divas realised all of its financial objectives.
These were to:
Raise sufficient funds to produce and present a quality exhibition of the Arts
Provide significant recognition to event sponsors and partners
Ensure the ongoing financial sustainability of the event
Be able to employ key, experienced organisers to ensure a successful event.
Third Show
The inspiration for Tarnished Frocks And Divas 2009 was taken from five decades-1920’s through to 1960’s. Many of those involved had mothers and grandmothers who lived through these eras. Re-vamped fashion, film narrative, music, song, memory, dance, story, wit and popular culture from those decades were interwoven to create a living and colourful patchwork.
An integral part of the Tarnished Frocks and Divas August 2009 show was the opportunity for young fashion designers to enter their creations in what has become a very competitive “open section”. The theme for the secondary school open section of the third Diva Show was “Futuristic Divas”.
Twenty-nine young designers submitted their entry forms and created a garment deemed to be the height of fashion for 2010 and beyond. After registering their interest, each entrant “lucky-dipped” into a large bag of vintage clothes and was given a vintage garment as a starting point. Their final creations utilised at least twenty-five percent of the original garment.
Tarnished Frocks and Divas’ wardrobe designer Judith Bell briefed the designers to put themselves in the shoes of a design trendsetter and forecaster. Just as war, the depression, and the introduction of zips and manmade fibres had a huge influence on the history of fashion, the young designers were asked to consider how economics, technology, the environment and other cultures/sub-cultures could influence fashion trends in the future.
OUR VISION for the Future
Because of the overwhelming success of all three shows - and ongoing encouragement and enthusiasm of the participating women - Tarnished Frocks and Divas is now a biennial event.
The event will continue to be an avenue from which to introduce new and unique concepts using the performing arts. It will create openings for women both young and mature to experience and be involved in myriad forms of creativity – think dance, acting, costume design, set & lighting design, hair & make-up artistry, musical compositions and other diverse art forms.
Tarnished Frocks and Divas is a much celebrated event in Tauranga drawing not only on national artists, but fully supportive of local talent already discovered, and yet to be.
Tarnished Frocks and Divas will be working towards achieving flagship status. This is a way of recognizing, through support of Tauranga City Council, the event’s economic benefit to the local creative sector and the business community.
