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Inspired by Audrey Hepburn and a little black dress, HPEB team finds a winning style
March 7, 2011
A little glue is all it takes!
HPEB students help
model Alexis Koskan
with last-minute
preparations for her
walk down the runway.
Alexis Koskan takes
to the runway to show
the dress created by
Arnold School students
for the Project Condom
4 competition at USC.
(Photo courtesy of Keri
Goff/The Daily Gamecock)
Audrey Hepburn must be smiling.
A team of Arnold School students reprised the iconic styling of Givenchy's little black dress from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to take second place in Tuesday's standing-room-only Project Condom 4 competition at the Russell House Ballroom.
The fourth iteration of the popular program pitted students from across campus in a safe sex project where participants used brightly colored condoms to create designer garments. The theme of the HPEB entry was "Safe Sex is Timeless."
This year's Arnold team members were all from the Department of Health, Promotion, Education, and Behavior. The team leader was doctoral student Tramaine Paul, who worked with other doctoral students, Lauren Workman, Dawnyéa Jackson and Alexis Koskan, MSW/MPH student Kassie Mae Miller, and HPEB faculty member Dr. Heather Brandt.
MPH student Shameka Wilson used her experience coordinating Project Condom 4 as her practicum.
The HPEB dress, actually a repurposed polyester Halloween costume, took weeks to assemble from about 1,000 black condoms and generous amounts of E6000 adhesive. The dress also had to meet production standards established by the Changing Carolina
Peer Educators, Student Health Services Campus Wellness and Carolina Productions.
Manufacturer ONE Condom of Boston again donated the condoms used in the apparel, which this year allowed costumes for men and women along with a category promoting sexual abstinence.
Koskan, a brunette with a model's trim figure, wore her hair in a Hepburn-inspired beehive to present the dress. It was accessorized by a pearl necklace and tiara, black elbow-length gloves, sunglasses and a jeweled bracelet. The only item missing was Hepburn's long cigarette holder,
During Koskan's sashay down the runway, the announcer intoned:
"Safe Sex is timeless. Our design echoes this sentiment and invokes the memory of a timeless fashion icon, Audrey Hepburn. Our model is wearing a dress and style Audrey Hepburn made famous in Breakfast at Tiffany's. The character and the dress embody sexuality, femininity, elegance, and class. Whether an individual practices abstinence or is engaged in a relationship, when it comes to making the decision to become involved with another person, safe sex is a timeless choice that is always in vogue."
Dr. Tom Chandler, Arnold School dean, was delighted with the success of the team. "For a college-age population of students, this event has proven extremely popular and also very effective at communicating the importance of safe sex practices including abstinence, monogamous relationships and certainly not least – the effective use of condoms.
"In South Carolina, HIV infection rates are among the highest in the nation; yet it is well known that condom use can prevent HIV transmission. I am proud that public health students are leading the university community in this important and creative health communication activity," he said.
Paul said the point of the competition became evident to her during the four and a half-years she spent teaching in the Atlanta school system. Pregnancy, spur-of-the-moment weddings, abortions, STDs and dropping out of school were daily issues confronted by teachers and teens, who are just getting started in life.
"Sexual health matters. My goal is to put out a safe sex message in a culturally appropriate way," Paul said.
Judges also questioned Paul about the dress near the end of the competition when the number of contestants was winnowed to six semifinalists
Koskan said she saw an online announcement of Tuesday's event and joined the team after she was recruited by her colleagues. The group met for weeks to fine tune the design and assemble the garment.
Brandt said while the project had an underlying serious intent, the Arnold team put a lot of creative thought into their dress and its theme.
The competition featured some fifteen designs in an array of styles ranging from a 1920s-style flapper to a Vegas showgirl with a condom headpiece. There was even a nod to the Jersey Shore with a Snooki look-alike and her tough-guy companion ambling down the runway.
This year's competition was judged by a panel, that included special guest judge, the "world's first eco-model," Summer Rayne Oakes. Audience members also voted for their favorite designs.
