Wearable Art Event WOWs The World

For nearly 20 years, the Montana World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Show has been taking art off the wall and putting it on the body. Even the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, has donned one of WOW’s wonderful creations to show her support for local creativity.

 

The awards are contested by artists from New Zealand and around the world. Categories include show stoppers such as Illumination Illusion, Avant-Garde and Bizarre Bra. In the open section, there are no thematic boundaries – designers have complete freedom to design and construct anything they can dream up.

 

Each garment created for the awards is individually choreographed into an extraordinary two-hour sound, light and dance show. Not only are you viewing remarkable, original pieces of art, you’re being entertained with a live show unlike anything you’ve seen before.

 

Last year the Supreme Award was taken by an 18 year old Golden Bay designer who spent two years dreaming up her garment and a thousand hours creating it. Claire Prebble’s entry ‘Eos’ - a stunning creation of woven sterling silver, copper wire, beads and silk - was inspired by a Greek goddess. Claire first entered the awards as an eight year old, with a creation named “The Junk Fish”.
 
For most of its life, WOW has been staged in the city of Nelson. But the event has grown dramatically and it is now hosted in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. This year there will be eight performances of the show, which will run from Friday 23rd September until Sunday 2nd October.