Ah-doa wants to make a brief connection to the APEC summit and its recent conclusion in Sydney. Now despite being a multi-million $ event of serious global significance that required eons of organisation and attention within Australia, I’m not actually interested in how the conference went. What’s most important is what the leaders wore for the all-important summit photo 
. Countries are supposed to spend considerable effort on devising a local costume that represents the host society and culture.
And so what did the ‘ever-chic’ and fashionable John Howard come up with (with the advice of his wife, Janette…A driza-bone…
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=28&ContentID=39871
If I’ve ever seen a more boring costume than this..I don’t know. With their formal ties and suits underneath, these guys all look like they’re auditioning for a corporate man’s version of A Better Tomorrow (1986, dir. John Woo). What the organizers failed to take into account when choosing this design was a sense of humour. Now whilst I’ve been assured these leaders were given a colourful Akubra hat to accompany the jacket (and why may I ask, where they not worn in the photo?!?), a splash of colour on each collar fails to make them look any more inspiring..
These guys are meant to be having a day off (about to have a relaxed lunch), where the APEC costume is supposed to make them look ridiculous and approachable (appealing to ‘the man in the street’ as Dad would say). Naturally for Australia (which possesses a considerable insecurity about its identity), it has taken the whole thing entirely too seriously. Perhaps if anything, this is characteristic of Australia’s attitude to the entire conference, practically locking down the city of Sydney over the weekend. The response towards protesters and the building of an exaggerated 5 metre wall, is perhaps a misguided response to very real fears when hosting such an international conference.
But thinking back not too recently to the Sydney Olympics in 2000, it felt like there was a much more light-hearted and balanced approach to being such an international host. Now we could talk all day about what exactly has changed since that time, but I would hate to think that Aussies are now losing their sense of humour (especially those in government and positions of power). If that was the case, then I really would start to fret for Australia’s already tenuous sense of identity.
So quickly back to the costumes, let me just say I was disappointed (although not surprised). Perhaps some Ken Done or Weiss designs, with their big-bright colours (say Kangaroos or Koalas) would have been more light-hearted. Failing that they could’ve gone for some famous Aussies, like the Steve Irwin khaki or perhaps everyone could’ve donned a pair of Dame Edna glasses. anything but those boring driza-bones.
