At the heart of everything WOW does and creates, is our international design competition. The WOW Competition is the world’s leading wearable art design competition, the 2017 competition opened for entries back in September last year and the winning garments have gone through three rounds of judging (in Nelson and Wellington) before the final 37 awards were handed out tonight.
The rules of the competition mean that anything that is wearable can find a place on stage, as long as it is original, innovative and well-made. And it’s safe to say that the designs below certainly fulfil that criteria! WOW’s 2017 judges were Dame Suzie Moncrieff, fashion designer and artist Kerrie Hughes, artist Michel Tuffery, Weta Workshop’s Sir Richard Taylor, Cirque du Soleil’s Valerie Desjardins and David Jones’ Teneille Ferguson. The judging process is in three stages, with garments being assessed in detail, as well as for their performance on stage.
After the show’s season in Wellington, the winning garments from each year’s show are then exhibited at the iconic National WOW Museum at (WOW HQ) in Nelson. This allows visitors to see the garments up close, and truly appreciate the level of detailing and expertise needed to create an award-winning work of wearable art. Have a look at the 2017 award-winning garments below and see what will be coming to Nelson in December 2017!
SUPREME WOW AWARD

Encapsulate
Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesia
Runner Up:
Refuse Refuge, Grace DuVal, United States
DAME SUZIE MONCRIEFF AWARD

222 Buckle Belts
Annina Gull, Switzerland
Runner Up:
I Want More & More, Hsieh Yi-Ting, Lai Yi-Ting & Liao Pei-Chen, Taiwan
AOTEAROA SECTION

Human Nature
Saar Snoek, Netherlands
Second:
The Cloak of Piwakawaka, Lisa Vanin, New Zealand
Third:
Kuini, Kayla Christensen, New Zealand
AVANT-GARDE SECTION

Cosmos
Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesia
Second:
Forte, Chu Chun Yee, Hong Kong, China
Third:
Reincarnated Goddess, Sham Hei Man, Hong Kong, China
WETA WORKSHOP: SCIENCE FICTION

The Organ Farmer
Fifi Colston, New Zealand
Second:
Cordycephila, Svenja, Australia
Third:
Watcher in the Water, Craig McMillan, New Zealand
ILLUMINATION ILLUSION: FLOAT, FLY, FLOW SECTION

The Spirit of Waitomo
Maria Tsopanaki & Dimitri Mavinis, United Kingdom
Second:
Morpho in Bloom, Michelle Yeager & Tim Merz, United States
Third:
Tears of the Nudibranch, Sarah Seahorse & Luna Aquatica, Australia
RED SECTION

Cube
Adam McAlavey, United Kingdom
Second:
Does This Suit Me?, Kate Fisher, New Zealand
Third:
The Messenger, Dawn Mostow & Lana Crooks, United States
OPEN SECTION

Encapsulate
Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesia
Second:
The Maw, The Baroness, United States
Third:
LunaRorschach, Natasha English & Tatyanna Meharry, New Zealand
FIRST TIME ENTRANT AWARD

Daisy
Annie Temmink, United States
Runner Up:
Existence, Alina Stanila, United Kingdom
STUDENT INNOVATION AWARD

Does This Suit Me?
Kate Fisher, New Zealand
Runner Up:
Jellyfish in the Sky, Tam Ka Lam, Hong Kong, China
SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Refuse Refuge
Grace DuVal, United States
Runner Up:
Lady Luck, Marjorie Taylor, United States
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Labyrinth Gown
Ben Gould & Dawn Mostow, United States
Runner Up:
Lux Operon 1.3, Erica Gray, Australia
INTERNATIONAL AWARD: OVERALL WINNER

Cambrian Regeneration
Xu Ran, China
INTERNATIONAL AWARD: AMERICAS

Like Nothing I Had Ever Seen Before
Julian Hartzog, United States
INTERNATIONAL AWARD: ASIA

Cambrian Regeneration
Xu Ran, China
INTERNATIONAL AWARD: AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC

Mollusca
R.R. Pascoe, Australia
INTERNATIONAL AWARD: UNITED KINGDOM & EUROPE

Angel of a Different Kind
Liam Brandon Murray, United Kingdom
NEW ZEALAND DESIGN AWARD

The Seeker
Carolyn Gibson, New Zealand
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL INVITED ARTISAN AWARD

Cube
Adam McAlavey, United Kingdom