Sacred Nightfall

Designer:

Kayla Christensen

,

New Zealand

In the deep dark forest of Aotearoa, spirits of lost wings and forgotten blooms echo through the realms of Hine-nui-te-pō

Year

2026

Section Theme

Aotearoa

University

Winner of the Award

Supreme WOW Award

Winner of the Award

Aotearoa Section

Sacred Nightfall, Kayla Christensen, New Zealand

About the garment

Sacred Nightfall is an intricately hand-painted and stitched tapestry which summons an ethereal night goddess from the deep native forests of Aotearoa.

A 10-time WOW finalist, Waikanae-based Kayla Christensen has received six prior awards, including placing first in the Aotearoa Section in 2024 and receiving the Dame Suzie Moncrieff Award in 2019. WOW Head of Competition Sarah Nathan says judges described Sacred Nightfall as mesmerising and multilayered, rich with kaitiakitanga and wairua.

“Sacred Nightfall asks us to listen to what remains in the darkness and protect what still lives. The extinct whēkau and ruru hinapō are painted back into existence, restoring their memory and honouring the fragile natural world that still surrounds us,” she says.

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