Trivia Thursday: 20 questions on fashion!

Welcome to Trivia Thursday, Expat Living’s weekly quiz! How about challenging a friend or family member? You can get together with them over Zoom, Houseparty or Google Hangouts. Every Thursday, we’ll put up a new quiz covering topics relating to pop culture, geography, history, language and more. This week, it’s 20 questions on fashion trivia!

#1 Shoe company Reebok was founded in 1958 in which country?

#2 Who wore an eye-catching “meat dress” to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards?

#3 The record for the world’s longest wedding gown train stands at approximately 88 metres, 930 metres or 8.1 kilometres?

#4 Which two-word French phrase refers to high-end, hand-crafted, custom-fitting clothing?

#5 Match the country with the national dress: China, Myanmar, Vietnam; longyi, qipao, ao dai.

#6 Finish this quote from TV series Absolutely Fabulous (“Ab Fab”) by inserting the name of a well-known fashion designer: “_____, sweetie!”

#7 What fashion look do you associate with dyed black hair, dark lipstick and dark clothing?

#8 Zippers were first commonly used in clothing in which decade, the 1890s, 1930s or 1960s?

#9 What’s the surname of brother and sister fashion designers Gianni and Donatella?

#10 The four “fashion capitals” of the 20th century were Paris, New York, London and where?

#11 Who is the editor-in-chief of American Vogue?

#12 Which item of women’s clothing takes its name from a nuclear testing site in the Pacific Ocean?

#13 What type of outfit do you mostly associate with designer Vera Wang?

#14 Which actress helped to popularise the ‘pixie cut’ in the 1950s, in films such as Roman Holiday?

#15 What are the surnames of these famous 90s supermodels: Cindy, Linda, Claudia?

#16 Which very common piece of clothing is believed to have taken its name from the Italian city of Genoa? 

#17 Jean Paul Gaultier made which iconic fashion undergarment for pop singer Madonna in the 1980s?

#18 Which singer turned heads when she wore a dress resembling a white swan to the Academy Awards in 2001?

#19 Which textile was most commonly worn by Ancient Egyptians: silk, cotton or linen?

#20 The men’s evening outfit known as the tuxedo takes its name from a small town in Orange County, New York: true or false?

BONUS

(If you can answer correctly after the first clue, you get 10 points, but you lose a point for each additional clue you require to identify the person.)

I was born in 1959 in Long Island, New York. (10)
My birth name was Karl Anderson Jr., and my mother, Joan Hamburger, was a model. (9)
My first fashion project was designing my mother’s wedding dress when I was just five years old. (8)
After enrolling in New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, I dropped out to work as a salesperson in a boutique. (7)
I went on to become the boutique’s designer, and by 1981 I had launched my first label. (6)
I’ve since become one of the world’s wealthiest designers, with an estimated net worth of US$600 million. (5)
I was the first creative director of French fashion brand Celine, from 1997 to 2004. (4)
Celebrities who have worn my designs include Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift, Kate Middleton, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michelle Obama. (3)
I’m also well known as a judge on Emmy-nominated reality TV programme, Project Runway. (2)
I am Michael ____. (1)

All the answers (no cheating!)

#1 England
#2 Lady Gaga
#3 8.1 kilometres (almost long enough to stretch the entire height of Mount Everest)
#4 Haute couture
#5 China: qipao. Myanmar: longyi. Vietnam: ao dai
#6 Lacroix
#7 Goth / Gothic
#8 1930s
#9 Versace
#10 Milan
#11 Anna Wintour
#12 Bikini
#13 Wedding dress
#14 Audrey Hepburn
#15 Crawford, Evangelista, Schiffer
#16 Jeans
#17 Cone bra
#18 Björk
#19 Linen
#20 True

 BONUS: Michael Kors

Looking for other fun stuff? See our Things to Do section!

Shamus Sillar

While he has worked as a magazine editor since 2003, Shamus also has a PhD in Roman History (useful!) and is a published author. He writes mostly on travel but also covers food, history, sport, trivia and more, across Expat Living’s publications and websites in Singapore and Hong Kong.