The WOW factor

The premier arts and fashion event had a strongly sustainable theme this year.

Befittingly for our eco-conscious era, the supreme winner of the 2010 Montana World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards was a striking white one-piece, which wouldn’t look out of place in a science-fiction film, crafted using sustainable materials and practices.
Its creators, Indian student designers Yogesh Chaudhary and Manas Barve, say their goal was to create “a garment which demonstrates an organic sense of wholeness”. Made entirely of merino wool felt, the first time entrants’ winning work ‘Loops’ was created using the advanced techniques of laser cutting and seamless knitting. Doing away with the need for needles, thread, wool, glue and other tangible materials, the fabric is cut with lasers and interlaced. The result, Chaudhary and Barve point out, is a garment that’s self-sufficient in more ways than one.
Sustainable designs have become increasingly prevalent at the annual awards, which marked its 22nd anniversary in September. Although there is a dedicated sustainability award, eco-friendly creations have cropped up across all categories.
Entrants, who compete for more than $100,000 in prize money, have used everything from old teabags and coffee filters to worn-out bike tyres to create ingenious and often technically sophisticated garments. Hastings designer Keryn Whitney proved particularly resourceful, fashioning her entry from the skulls, bones and pelts of hares killed for consumption and pest control. Whitney consulted with taxidermists and bone carvers before starting on the garment ‘Just Hare-Say’, which took out the Shell Sustainability Award.
“It seems the global recession has set people’s creative spirits alight with fresh ideas,” says founder Suzie Moncrieff. “The standard this year was stunning in terms of creativity and innovation. They reached the pinnacle of what I always dreamed WOW garments would be.”
The global financial crisis doesn’t seem to have done the WOW business juggernaut any harm either. If anything, it’s had the opposite effect.
Tickets to this year’s 10 Wellington shows sold so rapidly, an extra matinee performance was added. Total sales numbered 43,000, a significant increase on last year’s 40,000.
“It was our largest ever audience and feedback has been incredibly positive,” says Moncrieff.
A record 191 garments were selected for the stage show, 61 of which were international entries. New Zealand entrants competed with professional and amateur designers from as far afield as China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, the US and Mexico.
Moncrieff attributes the privately-owned company’s success to the strength of its brand, customer loyalty and solid business practices.
“One of our key advantages is that we’re so unique,” she says. “Shows are completely different each year and when people get hooked, they don’t want to miss one. We’re very lucky to have a strong repeat audience. I suppose WOW could be one of those small luxuries people are not willing to give up. We don’t take this for granted though and strive to present a world-class spectacular each year.”
Although the business is a relatively small one (it employs just six fulltime staff), the packed-out shows generate enough income to support a million-dollar plus production budget.
As delighted as she is with the awards’ success, Moncrieff says that, for her, they are primarily “a celebration of the world’s creativity”.
She says she’s proud to be able to offer creatively minded souls of all backgrounds the chance to pit their skills against a world of design talent and showcase their work to a global audience.
WOW shows are always a spectacular fusion of visual and performance art but Moncrieff and her team will strive to push the creative boundaries still further for the 2011 season, timed to coincide with the Rugby World Cup. The season will be held a month earlier than usual (in August rather than September) and extended by a week. The grand finale is set to take place on September 10, the day before the first World Cup game.
“The aim is to encourage visitors to Wellington to arrive a little earlier and stay a little longer,” she says.
Going by WOW’s impact on the city’s economy in recent years, local business owners should be seeing dollar signs. An economic impact assessment for Wellington City Council found last year’s shows brought in about $15 million. The extra shows next year suggest the city is set for an even bigger economic boost. Positively Wellington Tourism chief executive David Perks has estimated the event may bring in as much as $20 million.
International interest in the event has continued to surge, thanks, in large part, to the business’ effective overseas marketing campaigns.
Moncrieff and her sister Heather Palmer, the company’s competition director, travelled to India, China and Hong Kong earlier this year to meet with design schools and generally promote their WOW factor. The result was the highest number of overseas entries in the event’s history, including 23 from India.
“For the past three years, about a third of all entries have come from overseas,” says Moncrieff. “People find out about us via design schools, our website and online promotional activity (including our Facebook profile), the WOW museum in Nelson and word of mouth.”
As much as these international entries have added to the mix, New Zealand designers continue to excel. Kiwis took home 22 of the 35 awards at the 2010 event, which Moncrieff says proves the nation really is a hotbed of creative talent.
She and her team will do their best to highlight this at next year’s event, when Wellington is expected to be abuzz with overseas visitors. They have decided to replace the Pacific section of the awards with a Kiwi icons section, partly to tie in with the government-led Real New Zealand Festival, designed to make the most of our role as hosts of the Rugby World Cup.
While the business has indicated it may expand offshore in the past, Moncrieff says that, for now at least, its primary focus will be on making the shows even more of a spectacle and developing overseas networks.
“My goal has always been to keep extending the event creatively and I’m delighted with where we’re at. I’d like to develop links with international designers so it remains an international competition staged right here in New Zealand.”
Lorna Thornber
www.worldofwearableart.com