I think I discovered why people refer to World of WearableArt colloquially as 'WOW®' - I think it has something to do with the fact that everything about it was so spectacular I kept saying
"wow" every five minutes. Okay, so maybe that 'joke' has been done before but this is my first World of WearableArt experience so that the reference is still very much fresh for me.
Perhaps it was rather serendipitous that we were visiting Wellington just as it was happening. Believe it or not, I first heard about World of WearableArt from my dad! He was telling me he had a colleague from the Philippines with students that entered the awards so they were currently in town for it. You know I'm all for representation and supporting your roots so when I found out that the lovely team from Park Hotel had organised tickets for us to go, I was stoked!
Prior to attending, I was told a lot of there was a category specifically for white coloured garments, so if you've seen my Instagram, you know how much I adore a white palette in clothes and interiors. The show opened with this theme and there was a particular piece that really stood out to me. It was simple, elegant, and extremely wearable without compromising artistry and creativity. A simple white ball gown with long sleeves, made with this gorgeous sheer fabric. Unfortunately I cannot find the image anywhere and we weren't allowed to take photos during the two and a half hour show, but that dress has been etched in my memory. I want it as my wedding dress. It's the piece I envision myself wearing when I run into an ex on the street with their new lover (Princess Diana's revenge dress, anyone?). Heck, I would wear it to the supermarket if I could. Suffice to say I have fallen in love and in my head I have exchanged vows with this dress and we are officially committed to each other.
I didn't know how the show could get any better after that. I had already seen the dress of my dreams just a few minutes in. Luckily, it was literally just the beginning. The sets that followed after that were grander, the production and theatrics got more creative and exciting. There was a particular segment that really stood out to me - the total darkness in the theatre, the deafening silence from the crowd, a single ray of light with a 'diver' slowly descending from above (yeah, there were a lot of aero action involved). My dad and I were literally mesmerised and it was all we could talk about over dessert after (we went to Charley Noble just across the road and tried their edible art dessert entry. It was good).
Throughout the show, there were definitely a few pieces that stood out for us. It was fun seeing the crowd's reaction as they made their way around the stage too! It seems the judges were thinking the same as us too with a lot of the pieces we liked being revealed as category winners n the end. We stayed until all the awards have been called out. We stayed for photos around the lobby. We read every description, got up close and personal with some of last year's designs (there's nothing quite like looking at the detail up close - the intricacy of things can often be missed if you're looking at it from a stage). In other words, we left TSB theatre as World of WearableArt converts! It's easy to see why it's such a Wellington institution and I definitely would love to check it out again next year. Luckily for us, 2020 is already in the works - check it out here.
Images supplied:
1. Soul Guardian, Chang Yi-Wei, Shih Chien University Taipei, Taiwan
2. Sea Urchin Explosion, Jack Irving, United Kingdom
3. Kaitiaki, Lisa Vanin, New Zealand
4. 2019 Supreme WOW Award Runner-up, Woven In-tent, Kirsten Fletcher, Australia
5. 2019 Supreme WOW Award Winner, The Lady Warrior, Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesia
I think I discovered why people refer to World of WearableArt colloquially as 'WOW®' - I think it has something to do with the fact that everything about it was so spectacular I kept saying
"wow" every five minutes. Okay, so maybe that 'joke' has been done before but this is my first World of WearableArt experience so that the reference is still very much fresh for me.
Perhaps it was rather serendipitous that we were visiting Wellington just as it was happening. Believe it or not, I first heard about World of WearableArt from my dad! He was telling me he had a colleague from the Philippines with students that entered the awards so they were currently in town for it. You know I'm all for representation and supporting your roots so when I found out that the lovely team from Park Hotel had organised tickets for us to go, I was stoked!
Prior to attending, I was told a lot of there was a category specifically for white coloured garments, so if you've seen my Instagram, you know how much I adore a white palette in clothes and interiors. The show opened with this theme and there was a particular piece that really stood out to me. It was simple, elegant, and extremely wearable without compromising artistry and creativity. A simple white ball gown with long sleeves, made with this gorgeous sheer fabric. Unfortunately I cannot find the image anywhere and we weren't allowed to take photos during the two and a half hour show, but that dress has been etched in my memory. I want it as my wedding dress. It's the piece I envision myself wearing when I run into an ex on the street with their new lover (Princess Diana's revenge dress, anyone?). Heck, I would wear it to the supermarket if I could. Suffice to say I have fallen in love and in my head I have exchanged vows with this dress and we are officially committed to each other.
I didn't know how the show could get any better after that. I had already seen the dress of my dreams just a few minutes in. Luckily, it was literally just the beginning. The sets that followed after that were grander, the production and theatrics got more creative and exciting. There was a particular segment that really stood out to me - the total darkness in the theatre, the deafening silence from the crowd, a single ray of light with a 'diver' slowly descending from above (yeah, there were a lot of aero action involved). My dad and I were literally mesmerised and it was all we could talk about over dessert after (we went to Charley Noble just across the road and tried their edible art dessert entry. It was good).
Throughout the show, there were definitely a few pieces that stood out for us. It was fun seeing the crowd's reaction as they made their way around the stage too! It seems the judges were thinking the same as us too with a lot of the pieces we liked being revealed as category winners n the end. We stayed until all the awards have been called out. We stayed for photos around the lobby. We read every description, got up close and personal with some of last year's designs (there's nothing quite like looking at the detail up close - the intricacy of things can often be missed if you're looking at it from a stage). In other words, we left TSB theatre as World of WearableArt converts! It's easy to see why it's such a Wellington institution and I definitely would love to check it out again next year. Luckily for us, 2020 is already in the works - check it out here.
Images supplied:
1. Soul Guardian, Chang Yi-Wei, Shih Chien University Taipei, Taiwan
2. Sea Urchin Explosion, Jack Irving, United Kingdom
3. Kaitiaki, Lisa Vanin, New Zealand
4. 2019 Supreme WOW Award Runner-up, Woven In-tent, Kirsten Fletcher, Australia
5. 2019 Supreme WOW Award Winner, The Lady Warrior, Rinaldy Yunardi, Indonesia
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