WOW - World of Wearable Art Awards 2019

WOW - World of Wearable Art Awards 2019 now is over!

The WOW - World of Wearable Art 2019, the most prestigious fashion design award has been recently opened for entires and like every year accepts submission from all designers, artists and creators everywhere to bring to life the worlds that live in their mind.

About Competition

Now in their 31st year, the WOW - World of Wearable Art Awards, an internationally renowned fashion design competition that attracts entries from over 40 countries each year, has been recently opened for submissions for 2019 to designers, artists and makers from all parts of the world.

For three weeks every year, WOW showcases the best of these creations in a spectacular show that takes over New Zealand’s vibrant capital city of Wellington in an explosion of creativity. This year 60,000 people will see the show.

Participants are invited to create the unimaginable, ignore the conventional, and defy creative expectations as they make works of art that will be brought to life on a global stage at the annual World of WearableArt Awards Show. Anything that is wearable art can find a place on the stage, as long it is original, innovative and well executed.

The competition includes six sections for 2019:

• Aotearoa - New Zealand has its own deep sense of place. Draw on that to celebrate who we are as peoples and what makes us proud. From our rich cultures and history to our landscapes, our independence to our inventions. Show us New Zealand and New Zealanders as you see us.

• Avant-garde — A world that is experimental, radical and unorthodox; a rebellion against the norm. Dare to defy the boundaries of fashion and create a work that is cutting-edge, rejecting the ordinary and nurturing originality.

• Open — A world with no thematic boundaries giving you complete freedom to explore and create your own design. The only limit is your imagination.

• Mythology — Be inspired by other worlds and dimensions; explore fantastical stories of fearsome monsters and creatures, gods and goddesses, demigods and supernatural humans. Gather your inspiration from a vast treasure trove of tales. Dark and mysterious; exuberant and outlandish; ethereal and dreamy.

• Transform — Create a work that changes in form, nature and appearance. Play and innovate with different mechanisms for revealing unexpected aspects of your garment. The transformation could be playful and humourous, or it may be striking and startling. Show us an extraordinary metamorphosis.

• White — Representing a spectrum of emotions, white is associated with peace, light, love, perfection, purity and spirituality. In some parts of the world, white represents death and mourning; in others it is associated with angels, good health and time. What does white conjure up in your imagination? Inspiration may be found in sheer simplicity, sculptural boldness, intricate detail or experimenting with layers, light and shadow, proportion or scale. There are no shades of pure white because the colour is the combination of all colours.

Submission requirements:

Anything that is wearable art can find a place on the stage, as long as it is original, innovative and well executed.

• Designers must enter under their own names and not as a collective or a business.
• Design teams can consist of no more than 3 designers
• Designers can submit multiple entries.
• An entry can be submitted into one competition section only.
• An entry can be designed for a maximum of 3 models to wear.
• An unsuccessful entry previously entered in the competition cannot be entered again in a subsequent year unless altered by 85%.
• An entry that has been shown in another competition prior to entering WOW will be accepted.
• All entries must be submitted in English.
• It is a requirement of entry into the WOW Awards™ that a designer’s garment is an original creation and does not infringe, or pose a risk of infringing, the intellectual property rights of any third party.
• Entries must be made online at www.worldofwearableart.com before the closing date.

• Designers must supply WOW™ with:

- a list of all garment components;
- at least 3 full-length clear photographic images of the front, back and sides of the finished garment worn on a model (not mannequin);
- dressing instructions explaining how the garment should be worn and how to put it on;
- the following information regarding their entry:
a) a title for the garment (56 characters max);
b) a list of the main materials used in creating the garment(40 characters max);
c) a short description/inspiration for the garment (100 characters max) to be used in the Show Programme;
d) a longer description/inspiration for the garment which should be the story behind the garment including the inspiration(s) for the garment and the process and materials used in the construction of the garment.

There are sets out various requirements that all garments submitted by designers must comply with:

• The garment must be safe for a model to wear and perform in.
• Models must be able to see clearly and breathe easily while wearing the garment onstage under stage lighting.
• Garment weight must be evenly distributed over the body and comfortable to perform in.
• Headpieces must be comfortable, not too heavy and well balanced.
• All footwear must be robust, well balanced and safe for the model to wear.
• Electrical wiring must be safe and simple to operate in New Zealand. WOW™ encourages designers creating entries with electrical components to have them checked by a qualified electrician prior to sending them to Nelson for judging.
• The following components submitted with an entry will not be used: stilts, roller skates or roller blades or any hard materials with raw edges e.g. glass, ceramics, plastic, metal.

Entry Components:

• All entries must be wearable, that is, able to be worn on the human body. Garments must be made to withstand transportation, potentially strong choreographic movement, being worn more than 20 times and possible display in WOW™ exhibitions.
• All items the model is required to wear as part of the entry must be supplied by the designer, including footwear and visible undergarments.
• If a garment incorporates electrical components the designer must supply batteries.
• If a garment requires particular dressing aids e.g. lubricant for a latex garment, then an initial supply of the required product must be provided.
• For the Bizarre Bra section, only the bra is required. WOW will provide additional garments and accessories for all selected Bizarre Bra entries.
• There must be a concealed label with the entry name on the inside of each component (including accessories).
• Do not use perishable materials, unless properly treated, including animal products, plant products and food. Components submitted using organic materials that may disintegrate will not be accepted.
• Do not supply make-up, nail polish or earrings for pierced ears.

Garments must be made to fit the following sizes and dimensions:

Female:
- Height: 170cm – 180cm
- Bust: 86cm – 96cm, bra size 10B -12C
- Waist: 63cm – 73cm
- Hips: 92cm – 102 cm
- Shoe size: NZ/US 8.5 – 9.5, Eur 39 – 41

Male
- Height: 180cm – 190cm
- Chest: 93cm – 105cm
- Waist: 81cm – 93cm
- Hip: 95cm – 107cm
- Shoe size: NZ/US 10 – 12, Eur 44 – 46.5
- Garment Height & Width Restrictions

If you want to uplod photographs or a video they need to be saved in the following format: JPG, tiff, PNG, BMP only and they they do not exceed 1.5MB.

When worn by a model, the garment must be easily able to enter and exit the stage via a 1.5m wide, 12 degree ramp. The garment must be less than 3 metres in height or length. A Bizarre Bra entry must be a bra that fits the breast, not a bustier.

Each year, finalist garments are selected through three rounds of closed judging.

There is no entry fee for this competition!