WOW, the globe’s biggest wearable art show, begins this week in Wellington. Photo / Stephen A’Court.
They have come with their unusual luggage from around the world for decades – since the early days in Nelson before the World of WearableArt shifted to become Wellington’s biggest annual arts event. The overseas contingent of costume creators now makes up half the entrants. Many come back
year after year – that is, if they received the email in July saying they’ve made the cut for the planet’s premier wearable art competition. In Part III of Countdown to WOW, we hear more from international designers.
Urvi Selarka
Born and raised in Mumbai, Urvi Selarka was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York when she created the work 180 Pleats for the Geometric Abstraction Section for the 2024 WOW Competition.
The first time
Last year, 2024, was my very first WOW show—and it truly felt like stepping into a dream. I had discovered WOW while studying and it immediately struck me as the perfect playground for creativity. I entered because it felt like the one stage where I could let my imagination run wild. My greatest triumph was simply seeing my imagination come alive on that stage. For me, that was magic.
The commitment
It’s definitely intense. Hours and hours that turn into months of obsessive detailing and a financial stretch too. But honestly, the joy of seeing it on stage makes every late night and every extra penny worth it. I like to start by brainstorming the theme. I sketch, drape, sculpt and then somewhere along the way, the unexpected happens. That’s when the piece surprises even me.
The art of packing
Oh, packing is its own adventure. It feels like playing an intense game of Tetris, where every curve, every fragile detail has to find its perfect slot.
How WOW figures in my creative career
For me, WOW is an extension of my work. I design red-carpet looks under my label URVI, but WOW lets me dream even bigger. It’s fashion, but beyond fashion, like sculpting a fantasy that could never walk an ordinary runway.
What keeps me coming back
WOW is more than a show; it’s a universe. It pushes me to stretch my creativity in directions I never thought of before. The way it’s presented is nothing short of magical; it doesn’t just entertain, it awakens every sense.
Svenja
Svenja has had 13 garments accepted into the WOW competition. In 2017, her Cordycephila creation won the second-place award in the Wētā Workshop: Costume & Film: Science Fiction section and, in 2018, she took a third prize for Coccinelle in the Under the Microscope section. She’s a textile artist from Brisbane.
The first time
I heard about WOW through my involvement in the textile art world, most probably through Textile Fibre Forum, the magazine which used to be the only source of such information, and which I now write for. I also have family in New Zealand and was sent a video of the show. Entering WOW and being accepted would be a recognition that my work was of a worthy standard, and that’s what I wanted.
The commitment
Time doesn’t matter. How else would I spend my life? I’m fortunate enough to be supported by my husband, but I consider myself to be a very thrifty artist. Apart from the ethical appeal of using recycled materials, they can offer challenges such as limited quantities, odd shapes to work with or just plain weird stuff. With my husband being an engineer-fitter and turner, between the two of us we’re always looking for alternative/cheaper/better ways of doing things ourselves. Right now
I’m trying to make my own alcohol ink.
WOW has also become such a part of our life that in 2015 we got married at the Foxglove, the day after the awards show, so we will be celebrating 10 years there this year.
The art of packing
Packing them is simply awful, because by then you are absolutely sick of the sight of it and just want to walk away, but no, you have to carefully wrap, document, make a repair kit, write instructions. It seems to take another whole week at least. Thoughts of packing have to occur right at the start of the design process. For many years I shipped my work in “the pink box”, a roughly coffin-sized box which I of course painted pink, then added to during the years, until we were no longer allowed to use it (customs). Taking a fun photo with it packed and ready to go, with a celebratory glass of bubbles became yet another tradition. Now we do much less glamorous shots with the forklift driver at the port.
How WOW figures in my creative life
I’m a full-time artist, so it’s absolutely an extension of what I do. WOW is probably what has made my career happen, by giving me recognition and validating my work. The show has also given me a reason to make these mad things. Each year I make something I’ve never tried before, often using new materials and techniques, so it’s always fun and challenging. I stepped away from WOW in 2019 to focus on other work, and I completed several artist residencies and created two solo exhibitions which toured regional galleries. I credit the years of making wearable art with enabling me to think sculpturally, and my gallery work has evolved quickly towards this end. However after five years
away, I felt refreshed enough to return.
What keeps me coming back
There really is nothing else like it in the world, where you can create with free reign
and have your work showcased in such a way.
R.R. Pascoe
A five-finalist and three-time prize winner at WOW, Pascoe lives in the Blue Mountains National Park, just outside Sydney.
The first time
I’ve been a finalist in the competition five times since my first year in 2017 and was fortunate enough to attend the show annually between 2017 and 2019 but sadly have not since made it back over. My first finalist entry, Mollusca, is gracing the doors of the TSB Arena this year for show season.
The art of packing
Packing and shipping entries is an art in itself. While I always factor shipping into the core of my garment’s design, considering how each piece can be taken apart for easier and more compact shipping and storage, it’s safe to say there are still always surprises. One becomes somewhat of an expert in boxes. Even in the off years, I’m perpetually on the lookout for a good “WOW box“ – with a whole rack in my garage dedicated to housing this particular hoard. My first year as a finalist was one of the few (one of only two) that my entry was not so ungainly once packed that it required home collection from Mainfreight. For some reason that I have no recollection of now (though I suspect it was likely the optimism of sheer ignorance paired with a general avoidance of city driving), I thought it would be a good idea to deliver the package to the Sydney Mainfreight depot via train. Needless to say this was a one-off.
How WOW figures in my creative lift
As a fulltime artist, WOW gives me the annual opportunity to consolidate and showcase whichever concepts and techniques I have been working with at that time and present them onstage in the form of a fully realised idea, for a worldwide audience. Loosely paraphrasing Oscar Wilde, my primary school art teacher would often say every portrait is a self-portrait, so, even when responding to a theme, I am confident that the works I create clearly bear the signature design aesthetic and unique artistic point of view that I have cultivated through close to 30 years of arts practice.
What keeps me coming back
WOW is the world’s leading design competition of its kind. The WOW stage remains the ultimate presentation platform for wearable art. The presentation of works is second to none and the care of the garments – with the specialist team of garment technicians working to maintain and present each piece immaculately throughout three weeks of daily onstage performances – is also unparalleled. It also offers what is a simultaneously wonderfully egalitarian, and yet highly competitive platform, for the creation of truly unique and cutting-edge designs from individuals of any, and all backgrounds, all around the world. Who, year in year out, drive and inspire each other to go further – pushing the limits of aesthetics and design, exploring new technology and techniques, and propelling the artform forward.
You can read more from international designers here.
On advice for first-time entrants, go here.
World of Wearable Art: Rise runs from Thursday, September 18 to October 5 at the TSB Arena, Wellington.
