Dressed to Impress

Apr11

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Holiday in Hawaii #14

The World of WearableArt Awards is a design competition held in Wellington, New Zealand every September. It attracts hundreds of entries from around the world, all competing for a share of $165 000 in prize money and mentorships with renowned design companies.

We saw some of the winners from past years at a travelling exhibition at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu;  weird and wonderful garments constructed from textiles, jewellery, found objects and other unusual media in a futuristic display of creativity and innovation.

My favourite was this delicate gown, fashioned from wafer thin layers of wood.

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Are these the clothes of the future?

Weekly Photo Challenge ~ Future

36 thoughts on “Dressed to Impress”

  4. Let’s hope not! I would hate to think of all the time it would take to make these masterpieces just to have something to throw on in the morning. Not only that, I think unhooking and getting into any of these garments might be a bit daunting. Then we get to the environmental carbon footprint of these articles of clothing. If everyone just had one ornate piece of clothing to wear, how huge would our footprint be? I think there would have to be a lot of naked people strung throughout the future in order for a few to be dressed in the splendor of the few. Hmmm, that sounds like the past. Love the post. Love the museum. Thanks for sharing, my friend. 🙂

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    • Well, if they were all made of recycled objects like some of these were, we would be helping the environment. And, we would be contributing to the unemployment rate because we would need someone to help us get dressed in the morning!

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      • Now there’s a thought. I’m not sure someone would want the job of fitting me into that wooden dress, no matter what I paid them. It would not be a pretty picture, not to mention my screams when they tried to button me up! 🙂

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  6. I have an old friend who enters most years into this competition. She has won different categories and loves the challenge. Here’s a little potted history for any of your readers interested in WOW. The annual competition started off very small in the South Island about thirty years ago, drawing maybe 200 people. About ten years ago it had grown so big it was moved to Wellington where many thousands now view it annually every September. It is a major tourist attraction and the woman who started the whole thing [Suzie Moncrieff] was made a Dame in 2012.

    The designs are really Wow! aren’t they! I doubt they are meant to be worn though.

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    • I’m so impressed by your clever friend. The work we saw must have taken hundreds of hours to create. Well done to her. I’ve been a stitcher for almost my whole life but I can’t even begin to imagine making one of these garments.
      I would love to see the event. The parts of the recorded show we watched were spectacular and I remember thinking at the time how amazing the models must be to wear the outfits for an extended length of time. They don’t look comfortable!

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      • I agree with you, I think those models earn their money! My friend worked her way up over the years, starting with simple little embroidery projects [she used to make me an embroidered book mark every year and I still use them] and eventually surprised herself by being accepted into WoW ……. It’s amazing how our hobbies can lead us on!!

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  9. I did not know this competition existed. It is fascinating to be sure. It appears to me that the number of fashion presentations at the seasonal shows in New York, Paris, Milan, and other venues are exhibiting what can only be interpreted as “wearable art” more and more each year. I enjoy the trend and the amazing creativity these designers show in using the human body as a canvas or support for their art. The examples you show here are awesome!

    Galen

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