The World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Competition is an internationally renowned design competition that attracts entries from more than 40 countries around the world each year. The competition has zero entry fee and is open to anyone who creates a wearable artwork. The usage of unusual materials and techniques are more than welcome. It is an opportunity for designers to create freely without commercial restriction and to have their talents recognized.
The finalists’ garments will be featured in the annual World of WearableArt Awards Show – a cross between Cirque du Soleil performance and haute couture show – that runs for three weeks and attracts the audience of more than 60,000 people. Since there is no set number of finalists, anyone has a chance to have his or her work featured in the show.
VIRTUOGENIX: How was WOW founded and how has it evolved into the way it is today?
WOW: The World of WearableArt (WOW) had modest beginnings; the first Awards Show took place back in 1987 under a rain-soaked marquee in rural Nelson, a small city on New Zealand’s South Island. Local sculptor and WOW Founder, Dame Suzie Moncrieff, first came up with the idea of the World of WearableArt Awards as a means of promoting a local co-operative art gallery; by taking art off the wall and displaying it on the human body within a theatrical production. A very radical concept at the time!
Over the years, WOW has grown into the world’s most significant wearable art competition, attracting entries from over 40 countries each year. Today garments are entered from across the globe and are brought to life on stage, in New Zealand’s capital city Wellington, in front of an audience of around 60,000 people. The Competition as a creative platform has grown exponentially over the past three decades and the creativity of the designers has continued to go from strength-to-strength. Thanks to digital technology and social media we are now able to connect with designers from all corners of the world.
We have continued to embrace the worlds of art, design and fashion and bringing them together into a theatrical performance – the WOW Awards Show. We have been driven to break down the expected boundaries of these worlds and see what is possible when all worlds collide. This, in turn, has meant that we see entries that are more exciting and more innovative every year, as designers continue to create cutting-edge work. and question the traditions and expectations of the industry.
The development of technology has had a significant influence on what we see on our stage today. From innovative uses of 3D printing, to experimenting with new techniques and extraordinary materials that weren’t even around 30 years ago, we’re seeing how our designers are embracing technology to push their imagination even further.
VIRTUOGENIX: What are WOW’s main principles and objectives?
WOW: One of the things we are most proud of is that the World of WearableArt Awards Competition is open to anyone over the age of 18. It’s important for us to provide a platform where anyone can enter, no matter your background or your experience; whether you currently work in a creative industry or if you’re pushing yourself to try something new. Anyone can enter, anyone can become a finalist and anyone can win. The judges are looking for a garment that will surprise them and demonstrates design from a fresh perspective that they haven’t seen before. The garment finish should be immaculate, inside and out.
Each year the garments go through three rounds of closed judging, by a panel of industry experts, the designer’s background, experience or even reputation is not taken into consideration at any stage. This robust process means that every entry is judged purely on the garment itself.
We continue to encourage designers, artists and makers from around the world to defy creative expectations and push the boundaries of imagination. We want to be a platform where the lines between fashion, art and design are well and truly blurred!
Every year we see designers entering from all different backgrounds – and not necessarily from traditional creative backgrounds. We have created a platform where designers who have created for the likes of Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Madonna, are sitting alongside first-time entrants who do not have a traditional design experience but have an extraordinary idea and the ability to execute it beautifully. We see young students entering alongside ‘veterans’; some designers use the platform to explore and experiment with new techniques and materials, some use it as a platform to share their work with the world, and others embrace the creative challenge for the pure enjoyment of the process!
Virtuogenix: What are the top three reasons people should participate in the World of WearableArt Awards Competition?
WOW:
- As mentioned, anyone over the age of 18 (as of 30 March 2020) can enter the 2020 Awards Competition, and there is no entry fee to do so. Anything that is wearable art can find a place on the stage, as long as it meets the challenge to create a piece of wearable art that is original, innovative, well executed.
- The Awards Competition offers not only prize money (a total prize pool of NZ$187,500) but also profile and promotion of designers’ work, and access to exclusive internships and residencies with exciting creative companies around the world including Cirque du Soleil (Montreal, Canada), Weta Workshop (Wellington, New Zealand) and The Residency Experience (LA, USA)!
- The World of WearableArt brings together a global community of designers; through our digital channels and during the WOW Awards Show season where we invite finalists to join us in Wellington, New Zealand for a number of exclusive events. This opportunity to travel to New Zealand and network with so many other designers from around the world is truly unique, it’s a community that continues to inspire each other, that continues to grow year-on-year, and that really helps in pushing the innovation in creativity.
VIRTUOGENIX: Do you have any advice on how they should critique/assess and – if necessary – improve their work before they submit their garments for the Preselection process?
WOW: Finalist garments in the Competition go on a journey like no other. All garments selected as finalists are brought to life on stage in the WOW Awards Show. The Awards Show takes place each year in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, and attracts an audience of 60,000! The Awards Show is an extravagant theatrical experience like no other, with sixteen performances over the three-week show season.
Following the Competition, the garments then head to Nelson, New Zealand where a selection will go on exhibition at the National WOW Museum. We have also had an international touring exhibition, which visited six museums in four countries around the world, including MoPOP in Seattle and the Erarta Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Designers need to consider this journey when constructing their entry. Their garment needs to be extraordinary in detail up-close, and a high standard of workmanship is essential, but also have a strong impact on the stage when in front of the audience. Additionally, the judges are looking for a garment that will surprise them and demonstrates design from a fresh perspective. They’re looking for a complete concept and idea that is well executed and clearly portrays the designer’s inspiration.
VIRTUOGENIX: Do entrants need to submit a complete look or can jewelry, accessories, footwear, or headpiece designers submit their work without teaming up with other designers?
WOW: To enter the Competition you must submit a completed, full wearable garment, and as part of the entry process you will need to upload photos (and an optional video) of your garment for Preselection. However, entrants shouldn’t be put off if they haven’t created an entire garment before. Over the years we’ve seen entries from jewellers, milliners and even architects applying their skills and techniques to creating a piece of wearable art!
One of the wonderful things about creating for the Awards Competition is that there are no commercial restrictions, designers can use the opportunity to experiment and explore with new techniques and technologies to see how they can push the limits of their own imagination.
Teaming up with other designers is a great opportunity for creative collaboration, the Awards Competition allows design teams of up to three people to work together to create an entry.
VIRTUOGENIX: What are (some of) the opportunities they can expect if their garments are selected as finalists in the Competition?
WOW: Aside from the 34 awards & prizes that are on offer in the Competition, our international platform allows us to promote designers and their work to the world. We continue to provide opportunities for garments (and consequently their designers) to be profiled on both a national and international level with exclusive photoshoots, exhibitions, and media opportunities – even after the Competition and Awards Show have closed for that year.
In recent years, we’ve worked with New York-based fashion photographer, Lindsay Adler, fashion magazine L’Officiel USA as well as creating photoshoots and garment opportunities closer to home.
For the 2019 show season, we invited fashion activist B. Akerlund, along with renowned photographer Ekaterina Belinskaya, to join us in Wellington for the 2019 WOW Awards Show. In addition to judging the Awards Competition, B., along with Ekaterina, collaborated with World of WearableArt and Wellington NZ on a two-day location-based photoshoot which featured six award-winning garments from our historic collection.
VIRTUOGENIX: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Any last words for our readers/potential participants?
WOW: Entries are open for the 2020 World of WearableArt Awards Competition! Each year we ask designers to be inspired by one of the six worlds that will make up the World of WearableArt Awards. There are three recurring sections; Aotearoa, Avant Garde and Open and three sections unique to 2020; Architecture, Monochromatic and Elizabethan.
We’re once again asking designers, artists, makers and creators from around the world to bring us the world of their imagination and defy creative expectations. WOW is committed to being a platform that realises the unimaginable; where emerging designers can showcase their talent and build their professional portfolio, and established designers can set their imaginations free and explore new creative possibilities.
When designers first enter the Awards Competition, they tell us that they have finally found a home for their work that doesn’t quite fit into one of the “traditional” worlds or industries – their work isn’t explicitly fashion, nor is it quite conventional art. WOW is an outlet where these forward-thinking garments can really come into their own, where the traditional rules don’t apply. So whether you’re entering to progress yourself professionally or simply looking for the ultimate creative challenge, the World of WearableArt Awards Competition is a wonderful platform to push the limits of your imagination and creativity!
(Above) “Underling” by Gillian Saunders, New Zealand.
