Speaker A
now turn to task 3 questions 12 to 16.
A listening task from the Ukrainian ZNO 2021 English exam: an interview with Mexican fashion designer Carla Fernandez about her path into fashion. Questions 12-16.
Key Takeaways
- Clothing functions as a form of self-expression and communication.
- Cultural heritage, such as Indigenous Mexican dress, can inspire original fashion design.
- Practical, hands-on training was central to Carla's development as a designer.
- Financial constraints shaped her educational path, leading her to study art history first.
What the video covers
- The video is a recorded listening comprehension task (tasks 12-16) from the 2021 main session of Ukraine's ZNO English exam.
- Listeners hear an interview with Carla Fernandez, a fashion designer from Mexico, played twice as the exam requires.
- Carla says her interest began in childhood, when she took pride in having the best outfit for school events.
- In high school she made ill-fitting trousers, tied with laces to keep them up, and her friends stopped sitting with her at lunch.
- This taught her that clothing is a language and a way to control how one is perceived.
- She was struck by the striking dress of Native Mexican people compared with most people on Mexico City's streets.
- She felt Mexicans were wrongly thought not to know how to dress and looked to the USA for inspiration, so she set out to create what could be called Mexican fashion.
- She could not afford a fashion course in London, so she studied art history in Mexico first.
- She then studied fashion at Ibero Mexicana de Diseño, a hands-on course where she learned to design and sew.
- The video also includes exam instructions, timing prompts, and a closing reminder to transfer answers to the answer sheet.
Chapters
- 00:00Exam instructions for tasks 12-16
- 01:31Pre-listening prompt and question preview
- 03:06Interview begins: introducing Carla Fernandez
- 04:35Early interest in clothing and self-expression
- 06:26Turning point: Indigenous dress and Mexican fashion identity
- 07:43Education: art history and fashion studies
- 09:00Closing instructions and end of task 3
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
3. [Music] now we are ready to start listen carefully you will hear the recording twice hi dear listeners our today's guest is carla fernandez a fashion designer from mexico carla what stimulated your interest in fashion i love the power of clothing and the
Speaker A
You will listen to an interview for questions 12 to 16. Choose the correct answer A, B, or C.
Speaker A
make my own clothing which fitted me very badly because i had no idea what i was doing i made myself trousers they were way too big so i would wrap laces around my legs to make them fit my friends saw me dressed this way and
Speaker A
Now you have 45 seconds to look at the questions for task 3.
Speaker A
what made you take fashion more seriously and make a career out of it i also noticed the incredible clothing that the native people in mexico wear and i was excited by how amazingly well-dressed they seemed in comparison to the majority of people in the streets
Speaker A
[Music]
Speaker A
inspiration so i had the idea to try and create something i thought could be classed as mexican fashion i wanted to challenge these views are you self-taught or did you study fashion design i wanted to take a fashion course in
Speaker A
Now we are ready to start. Listen carefully. You will hear the recording twice.
Speaker A
ibero mexicana de designo where the course was very hands-on and i learned how to design and make clothes i was a fully capable dressmaker by the time i finished there these two areas of study were both very useful for what i wanted to do with my
Speaker A
Hi, dear listeners. Our today's guest is Carla Fernandez, a fashion designer from Mexico.
Speaker A
people are getting tired of just wearing a t-shirt and jeans every day and it's great to see people express themselves more in what they wear as for me i'm quite small so i'd avoid long dresses or anything with big
Speaker A
Carla, what stimulated your interest in fashion?
Speaker A
market like mexico so you need designers great tailors good administrators accountants good sales staff people that contribute to the company not just people who are there to make up the numbers i must admit that talent and education are not enough to get to the top of the
Speaker A
I love the power of clothing and the transformative quality of dressing up. When I was very young, maybe five years old, I remember dressing up for different events at school, and I took pride in having the best outfit.
Speaker A
transformative quality of dressing up when i was very young maybe five years old i remember dressing up for different events at school and i took pride in having the best outfit later when i was in high school i would
Speaker A
Later, when I was in high school, I would make my own clothing, which fitted me very badly because I had no idea what I was doing. I made myself trousers. They were way too big, so I would wrap laces around my legs to make them fit. My friends saw me dressed this way and no longer wanted to be seen with me at lunch.
Speaker A
no longer wanted to be seen with me at lunch that experience also made me realize the power that clothing has that you can control how you are perceived and what you communicate clothing is a language all of its own
Speaker A
That experience also made me realize the power that clothing has, that you can control how you are perceived and what you communicate. Clothing is a language all of its own.
Speaker A
majority of people in the streets of mexico city but when i listened to people talk about fashion in mexico they weren't aware of these amazing colors and garments rather they had the belief that mexicans didn't know how to dress and simply
Speaker A
What made you take fashion more seriously and make a career out of it?
Speaker A
london but it was too expensive for me so i studied art history in mexico because there were no real fashion courses at universities here at that time after that i went and studied fashion at a small institution called
Speaker A
I also noticed the incredible clothing that the Native people in Mexico wear, and I was excited by how amazingly well dressed they seemed in comparison to the majority of people in the streets of Mexico City. But when I listened to people talk about fashion in Mexico, they weren't aware of these amazing colors and garments. Rather, they had the belief that Mexicans didn't know how to dress and simply looked to the USA for inspiration. So I had the idea to try and create something I thought could be classed as Mexican fashion. I wanted to challenge these views.
Speaker A
own designs what do you think of today's fashion i think people today seem willing to dress a little bit differently from one another i definitely approve of young people today making more effort in the way they dress than young people did 10 years ago
Speaker A
Are you self-taught, or did you study fashion design?
Speaker A
shoulders what advice would you give to young designers i've learned that as a fashion designer you depend on many many people to make things happen so you need to assemble a group of people to do things well every day is a challenge especially in a
Speaker A
I wanted to take a fashion course in London, but it was too expensive for me, so I studied art history in Mexico, because there were no real fashion courses at universities here at that time. After that, I went and studied fashion at a small institution called Ibero Mexicana de Diseño, where the course was very hands-on and I learned how to design and make clothes. I was a fully capable dressmaker by the time I finished there. These two areas of study were both very useful for what I wanted to do with my own designs.
Speaker A
fashion world what is your motto the future is handmade [Music] this is the end of task three now you have three minutes to check and copy your answers onto the answer sheet
Topics:ZNOEnglish listeningexam preparationCarla Fernandezfashion designMexicoMexican fashioncareer interviewUkraineIbero Mexicana de Diseño
