WELLINGTON, Aug 22 — The World of WearableArt Awards, an international design competition, bring together the worlds of theater and fashion for over two weeks of color and creativity from September 21 through October 8, 2017 in Wellington, New Zealand.

First held in 1987, the World of WearableArt Awards now attract an audience of over 55,000 spectators and claim to be “New Zealand’s single largest arts event”.

Held annually in Wellington, New Zealand, designers from around the world, with all levels of experience and from diverse backgrounds, compete to win prizes worth over US$120,000 (RM514,440).

The awards describe themselves as “Where art and the human form combine, where dance, music and lighting tell a story of the body as a canvas; where the lines of fashion and art blur and merge as one...”

Awards, finalists and judges

The awards are divided among ten divisions: The Supreme WOW Award, Section Prizes, WOW Factor Award, First Time Entrant Award, Student Innovation Award, Sustainability Award, Wearable Technology Award, New Zealand Design Award, Wellington International Award and the People’s Choice Award. In total, there are around 40 prizes awarded during the event.

This year, the 122 designers selected from the First Judging process in July, 2017, come from 14 different countries, with half (61) from New Zealand itself.

The rules of the competition are flexible, with no limitations on materials, size or style, although each Section Award has its own theme, from “Red” to “Performance Art” and “Avant Garde”.

Garments must simply be “original, beautifully designed and well-made”.

The judging panel includes WOW founder and New Zealand sculptor and artist Dame Suzie Moncrieff, painter and fashion designer Kerrie Hughes and Michel Tuffery, one of New Zealand’s most well-known artists.

Anticipated sections

Back after a five-year hiatus, the Illumination Illusion section is set to be one of 2017’s most talked-about aspects of the show, with the theme of “Float, Fly, Flow”.

Participants will use 100-percent cotton fabrics, fluorescent spandex or nylon lycra, fluorescent netting and UV reactive paints to show off their designs in total darkness and under UV lighting.

The Open section is also one of the most popular sections: with no theme and complete freedom concerning concept, construction and materials, designers can explore the boundaries of their imagination and skill.

The Costume and Film Section, meanwhile, looks set to go inter-galactic with a Science Fiction theme for 2017. — AFP-Relaxnews