Each year, World of WearableArt® inspires designers to make the unimaginable and create works of art that will come to life on stage in front of 60,000 people in Wellington, New Zealand. Now we’re coming to Australia with six extraordinary garments available to see up close in outstanding detail and shining bright as part of an exclusive installation with Vivid Sydney at Chatswood.
From 25 May – 16 June 2018 you can see the following garments up close and in outstanding detail at Chatswood Chase, Sydney. Find out more about where to find the installation.
Cosmos, Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesia (2017)
The Universe is seen as a well-ordered whole, encapsulating its system of thought, reason and emotions. Its innate character is to defend and protect the natural order and balance. Winner of the Avant-garde Section in WOW 2017, this garment shines bright under lights and is the face of the WOW 2018 campaign.
In 2017, Rinaldy Yunardi entered two garments into the WOW design competition and came away with three awards including the Supreme WOW Award for his garment Encapsulate. Yunardi is an internationally renowned designer from Indonesia, boasting a twenty-year career in designing millinery and fashion accessories. He has designed pieces and accessories for several celebrities including Nicki Minaj and Zoe Saldana.
Find out more about Rinaldy Yunardi here.
Kahu Kereru, Andi Regan, New Zealand (2014)
The majestic presence of the kererū (New Zealand wood pigeon) is a heart-warming sight, cloaking New Zealand’s native forest in beauty. To create Kahu Kererū, the design hand-dyed over 20,000 cable ties to create the feather-like colours of the kererū’s plumage. Today this iconic bird is a protected species, if the kererū numbers decline, the land will suffer as they are an important element in the regeneration of New Zealand’s native forests. The connection of thousands of cable ties references this vital link between forest and bird.
Andi Regan is an artist based in Wanaka, New Zealand who has been entering the WOW design competition since 2010. Her work is inspired by pattern, order and process as well as her love for New Zealand’s flora and fauna. Regan specialises in creating sculptures out of cable ties. Working with cable ties enables Regan to create uniformity and rhythm through the construction whilst playing on the relationship between traditional craft techniques and the simple modern-day household item.
Kaleidoscope, Tess Tavener Hanks, University of Technology Sydney, Australia (2015)
Drawing inspiration from the kaleidoscope itself, this garment is made up of a succession of symmetrical designs and angular shapes from panels of coloured acrylic and mirrors. However it is not just the structure of the garment that is inspired by the kaleidoscope, but also the decorative and delicate elements that have been laser cut and engraved on to these panels. The beauty of this garment is truly revealed when under UV light – projecting an ever-changing display of pattern and colour.
Tess Tavener Hanks was only 18 years old when she first entered WOW (2014) and at the time was a student studying Fashion Design at the University of Technology Sydney. In 2015, her garment Kaleidoscope won the Student Innovation Award and the Cirque du Soleil Performance Art Costume Award. As part of the latter award, Tavener Hanks was flown over to Montreal, Canada to work with WOW partner and internationally renowned performance company, Cirque du Soleil for a four-week internship.
Read more about Tess Tavener Hanks here.
Knight of Fire, Maria Tsopanaki & Dimitri Mavinis, United Kingdom (2015)
The Knight of Fire is a powerful female knight of the future, she is the guardian of Universal Law, seeking to create a better future in a new world of light. Her armour is made up of hundreds of handmade red tinted mirror pieces, which reflect the light and portray the playful and complex elements of fire. The garment’s structure is inspired by modern architecture, especially mirrored and glass buildings.
Princess Niwareka, Maria Tsopanaki & Dimitri Mavinis, United Kingdom (2016)
Inspired by rich Māori culture and attracted by the art of Tā Moko tattoo, the designers chose to embody the princess of Rarohenga (the underworld), Niwareka. The garment has been designed to be a second-skin outfit, embellished with thousands of square mirror pieces. The designs feature Māori symbols of Hei Matau (the spiral), Moana (the ocean), Enata (couples) and Niho Mana.
London-based designers Maria Tsopanaki & Dimitri Mavinis created their fashion label so they could make works of art. Launched in 2011, Erevos Aether is internationally acclaimed, producing bespoke creations that adorn the likes of Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas and Jessie J. So when they came across WOW for the first time, they were able to appreciate not only the high level of creativity in the garments, but the sophistication of the event as a whole. In their first year (2015), Tsopanaki & Mavinis entered three garments and won four awards.
Find out more about Maria & Dimitri here.
Rorschach’s Dreamscape, Rodney Leong, New Zealand (2012)
Inspired by a fascination with Rorschach’s inkblot test, Rorschach’s Dreamscape questioned the possibility if Rorschach ever dreamed in ink blot images – melding one into the other – twisting and distorting and reappearing as something else. The designer expressed this using a reflective material to give the illusion that the garment is mid-flight and ever-changing. The garment was first designed digitally, before the shapes were laser cut and then arranged into folded patterns, the designer played with scale and reflection to create the full structure of Rorschach’s Dreamscape.
A WOW veteran, Rodney Leong has been entering WOW since 1995 and has had 19 garment selected as finalists in the competition including his 2006 piece The Love Of Icarus which won the elusive Supreme WOW Award. Leong has diplomas in fashion design, textiles and patternmaking which, along with his day job as a pattern cutter, have given him an exceptional understanding of how garments should fit the body. Leong sees WOW as an off-the-wall creative outlet for him – the stimulation, experimentation and problem solving.