WOW® Co-Director, Heather Palmer says Australian and Thailand designers lead the overseas field with 20 entries each. After viewing the slides from the International entrants she says the creativity and quality of workmanship continues to increase every year.
For the first time WOW® has waived the entry fee for international designers to help with the cost of entering the awards. This follows the successful introduction last year of the Mainfreight freight assistance offer to New Zealand designers, which is available again this year.
This 2004 Judging panel includes WOW's resident Judge, Nelson artist Sally Burton. Sally will be joined by Dan Hennah, Simon Hames and Margarita Robertson. Dan is taking time out from working on Peter Jackson's production of King Kong to Judge this year's awards. Twice nominated for an Oscar for his set decoration for the first two films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dan brought the Golden Statue back to his Nelson home this year for his work on the final LOTR film "The Return of the King".
Simon Hames also worked on Lord of the Rings as a prop maker, but is best known to WOW® audiences as the creator of the 1999 Supreme Award winner - Superminx - the mischievous and fun pair of Opossum "chairs". Margarita Robertson is the designer behind Dunedin based fashion label Nom D. Since its inception in 1986, Nom D has been among a small number of fashion labels responsible for defining the style that is now referred to as 'The New Zealand Look'.
Entries into the 2004 Montana WOW® Award are now catalogued and stored before pre-selection Judging in mid July. This decides which garments make it onto the catwalk for the seven shows in September when final judging takes place.
The Awards offer more than $85,000 in prizes. There are eight sections - including the Creative New Zealand Artistic Excellence Section - which is themed “From Impressionism to Surrealism.” This section is open to previous Supreme Montana WOW® Awards winners and invited judges.
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For more information contact: Heather Palmer - Director Montana WOW® Awards Ph (64) (03) 54 89299 E-mail heatherpalmer@worldofwearableart.com
