New Zealand designer Gillian Saunders has scooped the Brancott Estate Supreme Award at the World of Wearable Art Awards’ Show. Saunders, who had entered 15 garments before her winning entry – “Supernova” – has won eight awards prior to 2016, but this is the first time she has taken the top prize.
The World of WearableArt, known as WOW, is a renowned international design competition that attracts hundreds of entries from all over the world. Finalists compete for over $165,000 in prize money plus internships with leading creative companies such as Weta Workshop and Cirque du Soleil. Using the human body as a blank canvas designers create works of wearable art to be exhibited in the annual Awards Show. Designs are brought to life in this spectacular stage performance – a world where theatre, fashion and art collide. Held each year in September in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, this unique event draws an audience of over 55,000.
Supernova was inspired by “Thierry Mugler’s Chimera dress [from the autumn–winter 1997–8 collection], … the iridescent spiny fins of the Hippocampus from the Percy Jackson movie The Sea of Monsters, and some incredible NASA images taken by the Hubble Telescope,” she noted. “Once all these elements were combined, Supernova was brought to life. The large gems represent new stars being born and the dark shadows represent deep space. Each scale has been individually cut, shaded with marker pens and then hand-sewn on to the garment. Each gem has had its sticky backing removed and then glued on by hand.”
The Cirque du Soleil Performance Art Costume Award, chosen by Denise Tétreault, Costumes, Lifecycle, and Creative Spaces Director of the Cirque du Soleil, was won by Dylan Mulder for “Digital Stealth Gods”. Mulder receives prize money, flights and accommodation for a one-month internship at Cirque du Soleil’s headquarters in Montréal, Québec. “Digital Stealth Gods” also won the Wearable Technology Award.
The World of WearableArt competition has encouraged an explosion of creative activity, inspiring designers from a wide range of backgrounds including art, fashion, textile and industrial design, jewellery, architecture, law and home making, to name a few. The range of garments produced for the event is simply breath taking, as the rules of competition mean that anything that is in any way wearable can find a place on stage, as long as it is original, beautifully designed and well-made. WOW gives entrants freedom of expression without the constraints of commercialism it encourages lateral, original thinking and provides the opportunity to be innovative and inventive.
WOW runs in Wellington, New Zealand, through to October 9, and will be seen by 58,000 people live during its run. It employs over 350 cast and crew. This year, 133 entries by 163 designers (some worked in pairs) were received, competing for a prize pool of NZ$165,000.
{ SOURCE: Lucire | https://goo.gl/PevcxF }
