2020 World of WearableArt Awards Competition - Fashion design competition

by Irena Sibila on Oct 16, 2019

◷ 30/03/2020 (deadline)

2020 World of WearableArt Awards Competition is now open for entries!

CALL FOR ENTRY: The World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Competition, the most prestigious wearable art competition 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 ⇣

The World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Competition is an internationally renowned wearable art competition that, each year, attracts entries from over 40 countries around the world. This Awards Competition is an opportunity for designers to create the unimaginable, to challenge the conventional, and defy creative expectations.

The competition includes six sections for 2020:

• 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.

• Architecture - Architecture and fashion have much in common. They both incorporate form such as plane, structure and texture, and they explore specific materials and how they can drape, pleat, fold and wrap. Be inspired by visionary architects, both past and present, and use the human body as an architectural canvas to develop a work of architecture to be worn as wearable art.

• Monochromatic - Colours play an important role in our lives; they have the ability to affect our emotions and moods in a way that few other things can. Consider the various meanings colours symbolise, for example, purple can be associated with wisdom, mystery and magic; yellow can symbolise happiness, energy and enlightenment. Using your choice of one colour, create a monochromatic work of wearable art.

• Elizabethan Era - Often referred to as "the golden age", the era of Elizabeth I is one of the most fascinating periods in English history; a time of exploration, new ideas and new thinking. There are many different aspects to this chapter in history: poetry, music and literature, magic and superstition, science and technology, astrology, social standing and class struggles. Any of these could be the catalyst for your creation. What influences and inspiration from the Elizabethan epoch will you draw on?

The online entry process for the World of WearableArt Awards consists of three steps:

STEP 1 involves submitting your intention to enter. Designers must complete Intention to Enter by 30 March 2020 to officially enroll in the 2020 Awards Competition. This stage of the entry process requires designers to record how many garments you are entering into which sections. Designers cannot add a new entry after intention to enter closes on 30 March 2020.

STEP 2 Preselection is compulsory for New Zealand first-time entrants and all international entrants. A first-time entrant is a designer who has not had an entry selected to appear on stage at a previous WOW Awards Show. Designers are required to submit photographs of their completed garments for the judges to review. Designers will be notified of the judges decision and successful entrants will be asked to complete the online entry process and send their entries to World of WearableArt in Nelson, New Zealand to participate in the first official judging round. Returning New Zealand designers are not required to complete Step 2: Preselection and the entry process will allow them to go straight to Step 3: Complete & Submit Entry.

STEP 3 is the final stage of the online entry process. Here you must upload photographs of your completed garment and input all of the information required for your entry, including inspiration, materials and model requirements. Designers must read Competition Terms & Conditions and print and sign the entry declaration form to send to Nelson, New Zealand along with your entry. Your entry must arrive at World of WearableArt HQ in Nelson, New Zealand by 16 June 2020 (5pm NZST) at the latest.

2020 Awards Ceremony will be held Friday 25 September 2020.

There is no entry fee for this competition!

It's free to enter!

Eligibility ⇣

Entrants must be 18 years or over as at 30 March 2020.

Prize ⇣

The Awards offers not only prize money but also profile and promotion of designers' work, networking opportunities, and access to exclusive and highly sought-after internships and residencies with exciting creative companies around the world.

For three weeks every year, the finalist garments in the Competition are showcased in a spectacular show that takes over New Zealand’s vibrant capital city of Wellington in an explosion of creativity. Today garments are brought to life on stage in front of an audience of over 60,000 people.