| In 1987, Suzie Moncrieff held a small arts awards show near Nelson, a small city in New Zealand’s South Island best known for its fine climate and abundant seafood. Montcrieff invited any entry that adhered to two simple rules: it had to be wearable and it had to withstand choreographed movement.
In the 16 short years since its inception, the World of Wearableart (WOW) has become one of Nelson’s main tourist attractions, and the awards show has transformed into an annual stage show that coincides with Nelson’s Arts Festival, attracting more than 12,000 spectators each September. At the time of writing, tickets are almost impossible to find. The show, which involves 500 staff, models and volunteers, is a notorious spectacle – a theatrical fashion/art/stage show featuring dozens of entries in categories like "Bizarre Bras," "Ultraviolet" and "Reflective Surfaces."
While many of the entries back in ’87 were pretty bland and basic, these days the show is a carefully produced carnival of creative excess, and there is no item that fails to extract a gasp, grimace or laugh from the viewer. There are bras made of pig heads, airplane propellers, fish tanks, kiwi bird beaks and electrical wiring. There is a bird suit made of fabric gloves. Some outfits feature fishing nets or papier mâché animals, while others sport massive wings or robotic parts. There are suits of armour, and skirts of silk, copper wire or serviettes.
One strikingly beautiful gown is made of bubble wrap and organza, and another pairs paua shells and feathers. There is also a gown made of handbags, another of candy wrappers, another of mirrors and yet another pieced together from old maps.
A portion of the collection can be viewed year-round at a museum in Nelson. The entrance is presided over by HRH Green Elizabeth, a mannequin clad in an elegant cape/cage made of recycled saw blades and red possum fur. The exhibition is constructed as though the visitor is a spectator at a fashion show, with wearable art-clad mannequins parading down a motorized catwalk, complete with showy lighting and mood music. The atmosphere is at once charming and eerie, camp and classy. It’s an impressive and expensive showcase for a project that once saw Montcrieff mortgage her house for funding.
These days, Wearableart has a marketing and media partnership with Tourism New Zealand, and is well provided with corporate sponsorship (its official title is Montana World of Wearableart, due to the contributions of the large wine producer). So great is the project’s national prestige that New Zealand’s prime minister, Helen Clark, recently modeled a gown for the show.
The artists who enter their work clearly revel in the imaginative freedom wearable art provides. Some have created costumes, while others have explored aspects of media or tailoring. Some entries showcase the body, while others simply use the body as a hanger for the work and hide the human form behind cages or flounces – one artist managed to transform a pair of women into walking, furry chairs.
Dragons are always a popular theme, as are mythological characters and stories. Indigenous New Zealand materials and ocean motifs are key, but in general, none of the pieces has much in common with any of the others – there is a metal suit that folds into a bicycle, a fully mobile costume of a woman behind a table laden with cakes, a "Candela Bra" and a carousel hat, a frog costume that unfolds into a princess dress, an ultraviolet volcano suit and a porcelain willow pattern dress contributed by Rajiv Surendra of Canada.
In short, you never know exactly what to expect. Highlights of the WOW show have been taken to Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East. Here’s hoping it hits Canada soon.
Julia Williams is travelling around the world and exploring the global arts scene. |
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