Countdown to WoW: Award-winning wearable art creators share design secrets

Grace DuVal

Returning this year for her eighth time, DuVal is a seven-times finalist and, in 2024, won the Avant-garde section and Supreme Award. She’s from Boston, US.

The first time

I first entered WOW in 2009, aged 20. I had participated in a local wearable art show at my university and immediately fell in love – I knew instantly that wearable art was what I was meant to make, so I went to the internet to see what other shows I could enter. WOW was the first result and as soon as I saw how spectacular the show was I knew I had to enter. I got very lucky – my university covered all my expenses to enter WOW and travel to the show. The overwhelming theatrical spectacle of it, combined with the jaw-dropping wearable art, solidified for me that this was where I belonged. I believe that was the year a disco ball VW bug lowered from the ceiling and a bunch of body builders emerged from it to dance in the audience.

The commitment

Many of my pieces take years to complete because I have to balance building them with earning an income. They usually take two to seven years to build. The cost of the garments shows up in a lot of different ways, whether in material expenses, new machinery required or for travel to New Zealand for WOW. For this year’s piece I worked extensively with 3D printing, which required me to buy specialised equipment for all of the various stages of the build. I do this because I love making wearable art more than anything – I can’t not do it. Cost and time be damned, it takes what it takes.

The art of packing the art

I have to design the packing strategy into my garment design from the very beginning of its creation to ensure it can get there. My 2024 garment, Curves Ahead, zips apart into multiple components, and the hat has to be assembled on site because it’s so large. I have to custom-make all the boxes since they’re so large and I often have to go to furniture warehouses to beg them for giant boxes they’re throwing away. Packing takes an additional month after creating the garment itself. By the time it’s all done I can’t wait to get it all out of the house. I know I’m not the only one who feels this – WOW should definitely have a packing award for the cleverest shipping strategy.

How WOW figures in my creative life and career

I have a hot-mess, odd-duck career. I work in a bunch of fields, namely photography and sewing, and I apply these skills in whatever combination will earn me money. I’ve worked in theatre costume shops, wearable tech, textile prototyping, PR offices, marketing agencies and more. Without a doubt, all of my careers and odd jobs have contributed to my WOW skills. I worked in a textile shop sewing parachutes, which is incredibly detailed and demanding work. That level of meticulousness, plus an extensive education on the capabilities of industrial sewing machines, is what made Curves Ahead possible. I also photograph all my garments before sending them to WOW, which I consider a part of my art practice. All my skills are part of a collective whole.

What keeps me coming back

WOW is the only place where I truly feel at home creatively – I know that no matter how wild or strange my idea is there is a place for it on the WOW stage. I can dream as big as I want, imagine the oddest creation and devote myself fully to a niche concept … and it will be welcomed with open arms.

Samantha Anderson

The Brisbane-based, Auckland-born Kiwi has been a finalist twice.

The first time

After my first WOW show in 2019 with my mum, she turned to me and said, “You should enter! You’re creative and can sew.” I spluttered something along the lines of, “Oh no, I couldn’t, these designers are so talented and creative. I could never do what they do.” In 2022, Mum and I once again made the trek to Wellington to see the show and celebrate my 40th birthday. Afterwards, she asked again, “Why don’t you enter?” Something just clicked in my head and I said, “Yes, I will – what do have I to lose?” Turning 40 made me throw caution to the wind and give it a shot. I felt free and liberated to create, unburdened by fear, and my head was swimming with ideas.

The commitment

My garment this year took a whole year and 1000 hours of work to create – my biggest and most complex creation to date. I lose track of how much I spend on materials, which is more likely a protection mechanism so I’m not forced to acknowledge my own insanity – “whatever it takes, whatever it costs!” There is no limit to how far I would go to create a garment. The only constraint is my imagination. But honestly, I’ve spent thousands. Don’t tell my husband.

The art of packing the art

A lot of my garments have been awkwardly shaped, heavy and cumbersome. This requires a very large and sturdy box not readily available commercially. Cue my mother making phone calls from New Zealand to Australian companies trying to source a box large and strong enough to safely transport my garment. Cue me taking a hacksaw to this very expensive box to make it the right proportions, or for this year’s garment, taking a deconstructed giant box that measures 5m by 5m and weighs over 15kg and doing some cardboard origami in my carport in the pitch black of the night before the drop-off deadline. There’s nothing like the panic of a looming deadline to turn you into a cardboard box construction expert.

How WOW figures in my creative life or career.

I work for a charity sorting through donations. It can be mundane, grotty and downright hilarious at times. But it affords me an incredible opportunity to find materials that might otherwise end up in the landfill. My 2023 entry, Jeanus Terrablis, was created using 30 pairs of jeans that were not able to be sold in store. So I bought them and gave them a second life as a piece of wearable art. Same with my 2024 entry: 80% of it was made with materials that were destined for landfill. My work colleagues laugh at me incredulously when I walk up to the counter to pay for whichever random object I have decided could become wearable art.

What keeps me coming back

Being a part of the WOW family is special. When you’re a finalist designer the whole WOW team gets behind you and supports you on the magical finalist journey and all the wonderful things that entails. It is an honour to have your garment selected and showcased in such a creative and awe-inspiring way.

Grandy C

From Vancouver, Canada, a fashion designer who has been a finalist twice before.

The first time

I came across the WOW competition in 2023, really late in the season while I was researching venues to show my wearable art. It was super intriguing to discover this huge, long-running show and I began reading rules and briefs with the intention of entering in a future season. But as I read the season’s brief, particularly in the “gold” section, the idea of a sun disc adorning a human form came to me. I couldn’t unsee it, so I became possessed by the goal of bringing it to life as Sol Invictus. I had only eight weeks from start to finish – it took more than 500 hours to construct. To my surprise the gamble paid off and I got a call back from WOW that year. I’ve been addicted ever since.

The art of packing the art

Oof. That is a process. Every time I pack my artwork for shipping, I have to mentally treat the packing as a separate project. I live in Vancouver and the easiest way for me to get my piece to a WOW depot in North America is to personally fly it down to Los Angeles, drive it to the port and drop it off. It needs to fit in a car, survive airport baggage handling and withstand being sea freighted. You quickly get creative with framing lumber and cardboard. A fellow finalist once joked after seeing my box that if WOW was giving out awards for packaging it would probably win.

How WOW figures in my creative life or career

I have a pretty specific voice driven by my viewpoints on humanity and what it means to be alive in our modern age. I also have an incurable penchant for irony. Those become pretty strong foundations that inform my artistic concepts. From there everything meshes with my fashion design background to become pieces that are fierce, femme and freakish.

What keeps me coming back

It’s obviously a great honour to have your work shown on an international platform that is known for its rigorous jury process. That’s the dream of any artist, I think. But through coming to New Zealand every year I’ve made connections with a fantastic group of extraordinarily talented artists.

Ashish Dhaka

A design-school assistant professor from Gurgaon, a satellite city of the Indian capital New Delhi, Dhaka was a finalist in two previous events and last year took away the International Design Award: Asia category and the top prize in the Natural World section.

The first time

As a design student it had been my dream since 2009 to be part of WOW. Each year, I would come up with new ideas, concepts I wanted to pitch and bring to life for WOW. When I was selected as a finalist in 2019 it was an incredibly fulfilling moment – like a dream coming true.

The commitment

The garment I’ve created this year has taken more than seven months, starting from the first exploration to shipping the final piece. Financially it’s also a significant commitment. At every step I aim to use the highest-quality materials because the garment needs to endure many performances and meet world-class standards of finish. But the time and cost really depend on the nature of the work. In 2019, I spent only about $50 since I was working with recycled textiles. Last year, my expenditure was about $500. But this year, because I’ve created something very intricate and detailed, my total cost has gone up to about $4700.

The art of packing the art

Shipping my garment to New Zealand and ensuring it stays in perfect condition has always been a key part of my design process. I pay close attention not only to the materials I use but also to modularity. Both my previous garment and the one I have made for this year use multiple zippers, allowing the piece to break down into smaller elements. This makes packing, shipping and storage much easier. Over the years, I’ve also built a strong relationship with a local courier company. This has made the entire process smoother and even a little fun.

How WOW figures in my creative career

I am an educator at Pearl Academy and, after coming to Wellington in 2019, I returned to India deeply inspired. We introduced WOW as a classroom project with incredible support from the WOW team who conducted sessions, and we connected designers with our students for online interactions. Some of my students have even participated and gone on to win awards. WOW is a very special platform for me because it allows me to share my vision and ideas with the world while also applying the methodologies and concepts I teach in class to my own practice as a designer. It creates a beautiful bridge between teaching and creating.

What keeps me coming back

I keep returning to WOW because it’s a truly rare platform that allows you to express creativity in its purest form. It’s also about the incredible community of designers, hearing stories from veterans who have been part of WOW for decades, while also meeting first-time entrants. WOW embraces everyone no matter their background. You don’t need to be a designer or artist – just someone with a passion for creating art that can adorn the body.

Jill Perry

From Townsville, Australia, Perry’s connection to WOW goes back more than 20 years. She has been a finalist four previous times, as well as winning 2024’s Australian-Pacific designer award and coming second in the open section. She once got trapped inside one of her costumes …

The first time

My first WOW selection was in 2003, one of my staff recommended I enter a piece I was working on in an international competition of a high standing and that turned out to be my introduction to WOW.

The commitment

My time commitment while working on a wearable art project is usually 4 to 5 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week. My financial commitment often exceeds my creative budget but given it is such a passion I seem to nearly always justify the costs.

The art of packing the art

Preparing and packing the pieces can be a work of art in itself, from ordering bespoke boxes or making them up yourself and packing them safely to mailing quite often such bulky objects through Australia Post, to say nothing of the costs is quite an endeavour.

How WOW figures in my creative life or career

For many years I have had a number of studio setups in Melbourne and later on a working space in Queensland. Later in my life I changed professions and went back to study and become a counsellor-psychotherapist while still continuing to keep my hand in the creative endeavours of wearable art realising both professions required creative thinking.

What keeps me coming back

Due to work and family commitments, I had quite a gap between applications although I was still heavily involved in design and construction including competitions, I realised over time that the major competition was WOW NZ and it had grown from strength to strength over the years, their standard was something to be proud of being associated with.

That time when …

My most challenging and memorable experience was in 2019 preparing to have my piece photographed by my brother. The area I live in has a shortage of models, so I chose to model the work myself. The piece was a solid frame full body and head piece, bearing in mind once that type of work is on the body it requires some real assistance to take it off. My brother had left me to get ready and said he would be back in an hour, bearing in mind you could not leave the space once the piece was on which I could just barely manage myself, also you could not bend or sit in it. An hour passed and then another two hours until finally my brother turned up and said I’m sorry I got carried away with another project. At the time I was frustrated and a bit upset but must admit what an amazing predicament to find oneself – being at the mercy and possible demise due to one’s art. Talk about commitment and poetic justice.

World of Wearable Art: Rise runs from Thursday, September 18 to October 5 at the TSB Arena, Wellington.