Developed over three years and inspired by an encounter with the beetle collection in the Te Papa archives, More explored ideas of beauty and fear, featuring over 11,000 beads and 1,000 individually 3D-printed beetle and wing sequins. On stage, the precision-engineered garment transformed to reveal an intricate headpiece, creating the illusion of an insect gazing out at the audience, as a fully articulated feathered spine rose and moved.

After living with the work for so long, Katherine says she is completely blown away by the People’s Choice win.  

“I began with a very clear vision of what I wanted it to look like, but I had no idea how I was going to make it happen.”  

She says a huge part of the process was learning and executing the complex coding required to power the motors within the designs' articulating spine and feathers, a central element of the garment’s striking transformation, dedicating a full year to this development alone.

“At its heart, More is about the idea we’re all more than we appear to be on the surface, and if we take the time to understand the depth in other people, our relationships and connections can become so much richer.

“Seeing the work come alive on stage and seeing what the model brought to it has been extraordinary. I can’t really put into words what this means to me,” she says.

WOW Head of Competition Sarah Nathan says she wasn't surprised More won the People’s Choice Award, following the audience's collective reaction every night.  

“More is not only incredibly beautiful but technically ingenious and meticulously detailed. Every night, you could hear the audience’s collective intake of breath as the work transformed from a stunning and powerful female figure into an extraordinary, animated insect. The transformation was so fast and seamless that it was almost impossible to comprehend,” she says.

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A five-time WOW Competition finalist, Katherine had three garments in this year’s competition: More in the Open section, and Busted! and The Balcony in the Bizarre Bra section. She won the Open section with More and was runner-up in Bizarre Bra with Busted!.

The lucky audience member who also won $2,500 prize money by voting for More in the People’s Choice Award was Tammy B from Bay of Plenty.

“My son and I both loved More and chose it as our shared favourite garment. As he studies marine biology, the garment really resonated with us and stood out among the incredible finalists.” she says.

Explore all of the 2026 WOW Competition winners in our wearable art archive.