I’ve been to WOW – World of Wearable Arts in Wellington NZ – several times (spoiler alert, WOW is exactly what the title suggests) so was very excited when I saw this one advertised locally.
While it’s a similar concept – a showcase for wearable arts from a number of categories – where WOW is a theatrical spectacle, in this one each individual finalist takes a turn on the catwalk …at least a model wearing their outfit does. It wasn’t WOW, but then it’s only the second time they’ve held the event and I suspect as interest grows it will get even bigger and better and become an integral part of the sunny coast calendar.
The outfits were so creative and all told a story. Some were made almost completely from recycled bits and pieces, others were from materials sourced from the land, others were all about flowers and the natural world, while the avant-garde category was anything goes.
Anyways, below are some of the finalists…
Trashion
A combo of fashion and trash, each of these entries have to be made from at least 80% reused trash. Finalists used everything from coffee pods, to old mattresses, sheet music,straws, COVID vaccine vial caps, covid masks, and plastic bread bags and metal ring pulls… and more besides.
In the outfit below, the skirt, train and headpiece was made from plastic bread bags, and the bodice from metal ring pulls – all collected by the local “Nippers” ie junior surf club.
Sustainable Nature
In this category the artists had to use 100% natural materials and fibres, with each piece of work being able to biodegrade back into nature.
Floriana
As the name suggests, this category was all about floral art…
Avant-Garde
In this category there are no limits… anything goes!
Before and after…
What I especially loved was being able to get up close and personal with the outfits and their designers at intermission and after the show. Being able to see what went into these pieces of art was inspiring.
And the winners?
Australian Wearable Arts Festival will be back next year on August 9 and 10…
And Anyways... 
Oh I love this Jo and you didn’t have to travel to Sydney or Melbourne to see this spectacular. So creative, talented and colourful. Looks like a wonderful experience and thanks for sharing it with us. x
I’ll be off to WOW soon and fun to see the idea now taking root over the water.
Wow! WOW! People are so clever! So much colour and vibrancy, and creativity. I’m always fascinated with people who can see outside the box and then actually create it in real life. It would have been amazing to see it all live and in action. Great photos 🙂
OH wow; those creation are all so neat and I love that you got to get some close up details. So very creative.
WOW is a perfect acronym! There are so many fabulously creative people in the world! I’m loving them all but particularly the headpiece at the bottom of the Floriana section!
Wow, this was super cool, Jo! I loved the category where they had reused trash for something creative. But my favourite totally was the medication blister pack outfit (ex-nurse here, lol) that looks like a butterfly.
These are amazing, Jo. I tried hard to choose a favourite but I kept changing my mind. The creativity is awe-inspiring!
Holy smokes – the amount of work that went into these outfits is mind boggling. Very interesting.
I saw these on your instafeed but I loved seeing them bigger and close up on my computer they are absolutely ah-mazing! Some people are so clever and creative. I think the recycled category is my favourite. How lucky are you to have such a fabulous local event?!
WOW, wow and double wow to the images and the stories behind them. So many people have soooo much creativity and patience don’t they? Thank you so much for sharing your blog post for the first link up of Denyse’s Words and Pics. I hope too, that you will be back next Wednesday. Warm wishes and appreciation from Denyse.
These are amazing works of art Jo! Some people are so clever aren’t they? Really pleased you were able to see this show and hopefully it will grow into the future. The Trashion section was particularly inspiring!
How fantastic that you were able to see these wonderful creations on your doorstep. All the designs were amazing but I loved the recycling ones. I did like the idea of the sustainable nature clothes but feel they would be very scratch to wear!
Thanks for sharing – I found it really interesting