World of Wearable Art Awards

Deadline: 2019-03-29
Award: $187,500 NZD
Open to: Designers*

The World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Competition is an internationally renowned design competition that attracts entries from over 40 countries each year. Anything that is wearable art can find a place on the stage, as long as it is original, innovative and well executed.

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.

For designers, WOW offers not only prize money but also profile and promotion of your work, networking opportunities, and access to exclusive internships and residencies.

Whether you’re entering to progress yourself professionally or simply looking for a creative challenge, WOW is a wonderful platform to push the limits of your imagination and creativity.

Each year we ask designers to be inspired by one of the six worlds that will make up the World of WearableArt Awards. There are three recurring Sections; Aotearoa, Avant-garde and Open, and three Sections that are unique to that year.

For the audience, WOW is a feast for the eyes, where fashion, art and theatre collide. For the designers, it’s an opportunity to create a work free from commercial restrictions, to go on a creative journey with their peers and to have their talent recognized.

Designers can come from the worlds of fashion, textile or industrial design, jewellery, architecture, engineering, sculpture and painting, or homemaking.