Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, October 5, 2023
Like every year, Wellington has turned into the Fashion and Art Capital with designers from around the globe showcasing their creations.
From September 28, 2023 to October 8, 2023, this year’s World of Wearable Art (WOW) award winners at Wellington’s TSB Arena are being cheered by spectators, as mesmerising stagecraft presents excellence in fashion and wearable art by designers.
WOW founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff summed up the idea of this unique spectacle when she said that it is intended to “take art off the wall and static display to adorn the body in wildly wonderful ways.”
About the show
World of Wearable Art is New Zealand’s most spectacular theatrical stage production and the world’s leading wearable art competition.
The TSB Arena stage has been buzzing with this year’s 110 finalists representing more than 120 designers from 23 countries and regions around the world.
The show is a collaboration of creative experts across various genres with some extraordinary New Zealand artists performing alongside a cast of over 100 dancers, aerialists and singers.
Together, they elevate the 2023 WOW Show to dazzling heights as audiences journey into a futuristic world.
Music Director Eden Mulholland described the WOW show score as “a wonderfully complex creative puzzle” that took a year to complete.
“Each artist has contributed their unique style and expertise. Deva’s powerful and graceful brilliance, Zoe’s vibrant fusion of soul and fire, Jaxson’s compelling presence and remarkable ‘X factor,’ and Taiaroa’s performative mana. We have Anatonio Te Maioha, who has brought his deep knowledge of te reo Māori and poetic expression to the Aotearoa section’s vocal layers, and Helen Mountfort, whose virtuosity on cello is adding life and depth to the recordings,” he said.
Showcase of human experience
The 2023 Supreme WOW Award was awarded to Nelson designer Gillian (Gill) Saunders for her garment, ‘Earthling.’ It is Ms Saunders’ 13th WOW placing, seventh award win, and her second Pinnacle WOW Supreme Award.
Ms Saunders is among 15 section and special award winners.
There are also 12 second and third-place winners, with a total awards prize pool worth $185,000.
WOW Head of Competition, Sarah Nathan said, “The stories behind many of this year’s garments reflect a range of important social issues, making the WOW Show not only a brilliant spectacle but a heartfelt showcase of the human experience through some of the most outstanding pieces of wearable art in the world. As ever, the judges had an incredibly difficult job. This year, as we watch and celebrate the evolution of new technologies, materials and techniques, there is something very grounding in celebrating a Supreme winner that is 100% handcrafted.”
The Supreme Award winner
‘Earthling’ is the third and final piece in a wearable art trilogy by Ms Saunders and was inspired by the rising popularity of adult colouring books.
Promoting mindfulness in a “world under increasing stress,” Earthling celebrates earth’s natural wonders in a fun, vibrant, and beautifully crafted garment made from EVA foam, acrylic paint, and wire.
The judges said, “Earthling demonstrated an unmatched sense of the unity of wearable art and impeccable craftmanship. It is absolutely beautiful, joyful, playful and positive, and wholly global yet looks and feels like Aotearoa.”
Ms Saunders received $6000 for winning the Open category and $30,000 for the Supreme WOW Award.
Judges and Winners
The 2023 judging panel comprised WOW Founder and Ambassador Dame Suzie Moncrieff, New Zealand sculptor and Arts Foundation Laureate Brett Graham and Wētā Workshop Emerging Designer Award Judge was none other than the Co-founder, CEO and Creative Director of Wētā Workshop, Sir Richard Taylor.
Other winners for WOW 2023 included the oldest finalists in the 2023 line-up, Joanne Van Wyk and Lena Van Der Wat (aged 81 and 87) from South Africa, who, with their daughter/daughter-in-law Erna Van Der Wat from Auckland, crocheted an extraordinary alien, ‘Blooming Proof!’ to win the Mars & Beyond section.
Taking out the popular Bizarre Bra section, husband and wife team David and Kristy Kirkpatrick, from Tuakau, who created a ‘digger bra,’ titled ‘Groundbreaking.’
The winner of the Aotearoa section is a huge wooden wētā, ‘Child Hood’ by welder Craig McMillan, inspired by his upbringing on the West Coast.
The other section winners were first-time entrant Chiaki Shimizu from Japan, whose ‘Samurai Girl’ won the Avant-garde section and the Wētā Workshop Emerging Designer award, and Dawn Mostow and Snow Winters from the US, who took out the Gold section and the International Award (Americas) with ‘Digital Ascension of Kitsune’ an inflated latex masterpiece.
Ms Mostow won the Overall International Award twice before.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
