WOW! NZ’s biggest art event is 20 in 2008
10 Sep 2008
The largest art event on New Zealand's cultural calendar, the 2008 Montana World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards show is about to explode on stage with a spectacular 20th birthday extravaganza.
WOW - a unique show renowned for its dazzling difference - is now listed on the international cultural calendar and attracts entries and an audience from all over the world.
Described as "Mardi Gras meets Haute Couture" and "Le Cirque du Soleil on tour with Alice in Wonderland", WOW sees fashion and art collude and collide in a show like no other in the world.
WOW 2008 will feature nine performances from 25 September to 5 October.
From humble beginnings
The now Wellington-based show is a far cry from its humble beginnings in the South Island city of Nelson where local sculptor Suzie Moncrieff was looking for a concept to promote a rural art gallery.
Moncrieff relished the challenge to come up with something new and imagined an off-the-wall promotion. Literally. Suzie’s idea was to take art off the wall and adorn the human form.She envisioned artists and designers creating wearable art, and then exhibiting those interpretations on stage in a dramatic setting.
The result was more than a promotion; it was a mesmerising, unforgettable performance which has grown progressively.
Seven segment show
Now the annual competition and awards show features seven 'wearable' segments that are more theatrical than traditional catwalk fashion.
Dancers and models festooned in wildly imaginative garments made from unusual materials let themselves loose in graceful freestyle to a pulsing music and light show.
More than 300 designers and 400 cast and crew are involved in the show and the 2008 event has attracted entries from the UK, USA, Australia, India, Japan, Thailand, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, Fiji, Canada and New Zealand.
In the past the show has also travelled to Asia, the Middle East, Japan and Australia.
International judges and entries
A third of the garments selected for this year's show are from international designers.
The ideas behind the entries are as varied as the countries they come from and include an Israeli garment made from 3500 old drinking straws, and a five-metre high dowel and cord construction inspired by the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England and the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.
Judges include the well known BBC journalist and broadcaster Michael Peschardt, who will judge the Wellington International Award, as well as New Zealand sculptor Jeff Thomson, leading fashion designer Elisabeth Findlay from Zambesi, and WOW founder Suzie Moncrieff.
A world of creativity
A total of 35 finalists will be selected from approximately 300 entries that come from the world of film, fashion, photography, craft, design, sculpting, drama and art.
There is no requirement for entrants to be professional artists or hold fine arts qualifications, and the non-elitist approach ensures new designers enter every year, helping to keep WOW progressive.
Designers are challenged to create something that has impact on a large stage and can withstand detailed scrutiny but there are no rules about following traditional handcraft or sewing techniques.
The 2008 award winner will be announced on 26 September.
Nelson museum
The annual awards show also feeds the World of WearableArt & Classic Cars Museum in Nelson which houses creations from finalists and winners over the past 19 years.
The museum collection offers visitors a chance to see garments up close including those made of ballet shoes, metal coils, tiny pairs of jeans, paper clips, bits of tyres or feathers, human hair, coral, tree bark and pages from a book.
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