WOW - World of WearableArt

Step 1 involves submitting your intention to enter. All entrants must complete Step 1: Intention to Enter by 26 March 2021 to officially enroll in the 2021 Competition.

The ‘intention to enter’ stage of the entry process requires entrants to provide the following information online:

• Basic personal information
•  Your entry name (garment name) and your chosen section
• Design teams of 2-3 members must nominate a lead designer to complete the entry process on behalf of their team

Please note:

You can edit this information or withdraw an entry at any point before 26 March 2021

You cannot add a new entry after intention to enter closes on 26 March 2021

Step 2: Preselection is compulsory for New Zealand first-time entrants and all international entrants. A first-time entrant is a designer who has not had an entry selected to appear on stage at a previous WOW Awards Show. At this stage you must have completed your garment/s, ready for the judges to review.

At Step 2: Preselection, entrants are required to submit the following information via the online entry process:

• Garment materials
• A short inspiration
• A long inspiration
• A minimum of four photographs of your completed garment
• An (optional) video of your completed garment

Entrants will be notified of the judges’ decision and successful entrants will be asked to continue to complete Step 3 of the online entry process and send their entries to World of WearableArt in Nelson, New Zealand to participate in the first official judging round.

Returning New Zealand designers are not required to complete Step 2: Preselection and the online entry process will allow them to go straight to Step 3: Complete & Submit Entry when they log in to their designer profile.

Please note:

Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to capture your photographs and video of your garment before the deadline

Step 3: Complete & Submit Entry is the final stage of the online entry process. 

At this stage you will be required to submit the following:

• Photographs of your completed garment (if you have not already done so as part of Step 2: Preselection)
• All outstanding information required for your entry: long and short inspirations, materials and model requirements
• Dressing instructions created, printed and sent with your entry 
• Read the Competition Terms & Conditions
• Print and sign the entry declaration form to send to Nelson, New Zealand along with your entry

Your entry must arrive at World of WearableArt in Nelson, New Zealand by 15 June 2021 (5pm NZST) at the latest. 

No. There is no entry fee to enter the Competition.

Entrants must be 18 years or over as at 26 March 2021.

The country an entry is from is determined by the place where a designer mostly resides. If an internationally-born designer is living in New Zealand, with New Zealand citizenship or New Zealand permanent residency, they are considered a New Zealand entrant and are not eligible for International Awards. 

Internationally-born designers living in New Zealand on temporary visas, are considered International entrants. A design group made up of both New Zealand and International designers are not eligible for the International Awards or the New Zealand Design Award.

Yes. You may submit multiple entries in the Competition. 

An entry can consist of up to three garments, and there is no limit to the number of entries that you can submit. 

No. You must include at least four full length photographs of your actual completed garment as part of your entry submission.

To be eligible for the Student Innovation Award, the designer must be currently enrolled in a tertiary level course or they have graduated within 24 months, as of 26 March 2021*

The designer must provide their student ID number as part of the entry process requirements.

*Please note: This timeframe has been extended by an additional 12 months specifically for the 2021 Competition due to the impact of Covid-19 

No. Both designers must be students (or graduated within the 24 months before 26 March) to be eligible for the Student Innovation Award.

This also applies to the First-Time Entrant Award, both designers must be first-time entrants to be eligible for the award.

Have you registered? Designers must register to receive their unique designer number before they can complete the online entry process.

If you have forgotten the email address that you used to register or are still having issues logging in, please contact our Wardrobe Operations & Garment Logistics Manager, Leonie: leonie@worldofwearableart.com

If you are struggling to upload photographs or a video to your online entry form, they may be the wrong size or format.

Please see below for the requirements:

Photograph Format Requirements

File Format: JPG, tiff, PNG, BMP only 
NB. The online entry form cannot accept PDFs, .rar, .zip or other formats.

File Size: 1.5MB maximum

Video Format Requirements

File Format: MP4 or MOV only | File Size: 25MB maximum

Video Duration: 15 seconds maximum

No. It is not compulsory for designers to attend the Awards Show if their entry is selected as a finalist, although we do encourage designers to attend the Awards Night Show (Friday 1 October 2021) so that in the event they win an award, they are present to collect their prize.

If your entry is chosen as a finalist (at First Judging, the judges select your entry to appear on stage in the Awards Show), you are entitled to ONE FREE Premium Seat in the ‘Designer Seating Section’ on Awards Night. You can also purchase up to three adjacent seats for your family or friends.

If your entry is not successful at First Judging, you will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets (for you and a family member or friend) in the ‘Designer Seating Section’ on Awards Night. 

Designers will be notified the process for purchasing Show tickets when they receive judging results letters by Friday 16 July 2021.