‘Unlike anything I’ve seen’: Inside Wellington’s WOW Show

More than 50,000 people head to a city in New Zealand each year to watch a bizarre show that has to be seen to be believed.

I just saw the most bizarre, quirky and surreal show of my life, and I’m dying to tell you all about it.

So here’s the deal. I was flown over to Wellington in New Zealand to attend WOW - the World of Wearable Art Show.

It’s an annual event that’s been running for more than 20 years but I had never heard of it, so when I touched down in the windiest city on earth, I asked several locals what WOW was all about.

“You won’t understand it until you see it,” one told me.

The WOW Show. Picture: Instagram @worldofwearableart

Crazy, huh? Picture: Instagram @worldofwearableart

“It’s hard to describe,” another person said. “It’s kind of like Cirque Du Soleil meets the fashion runways of Paris.”

They weren’t wrong, it is hard to describe, but I’m going to do my best.

The basics of WOW

Essentially, WOW is a design competition with cash prizes on offer for the winners.

Each year there are six section themes for designers to be inspired by when entering the comp, including three recurring sections (Aotearoa, Avant-garde and Open) and three additional sections which change each year.

This year’s additional themes were: Natural world (Harness the elements of wind, air, water, earth or fire to create a work of wearable art that encompasses the wonders of nature), Geometric Abstraction (Create a work of wearable art that uses either geometric abstraction or optical art or combine the two) and Crazy Curiosities of the Creature Carnival (From the bizarre to the beautiful, and mysterious to the grotesque … create a garment that crosses the boundaries of wearable art).

Hundreds of designers from all around the world, including India, China, Italy and Australia enter the competition each year, and the judges select the best entries to be presented to the public during the WOW show held at TSB Arena in Wellington.

This year there are 14 WOW shows from September 26 through to October 13.

One of this year’s entries. Picture: Instagram @worldofwearableart

Stunning. Picture: Instagram @worldofwearableart

What happens during the show

The WOW show was unlike anything I have ever seen.

Instead of just presenting the top designs on a catwalk like they would in Paris or New York, the creative garments are revealed one by one during a bonkers stage show that features singers, 3D projection and lighting, aerial artists and acrobats.

Here are some notes I made on my phone during the show.

“There’s so much happening that I honestly don’t know where to look.”

“I feel as if I’ve taken acid and am watching all of Lady Gaga’s music videos back to back.”

“This is kind of like Eurovision, but instead of the focus being on the music it’s all about the outfits.”

And to give you an idea of just how bizarre it was, here are some things I witnessed during the show:

- A man in a wheelchair performing a series of tricks while flying through the air.

- A man dressed as a farmer walking on stage with three sheep while singing Dave Dobbin’s Slice of Heaven.

- A violinist and singer performing while hanging from the rafters … all while models wearing the wearable art creations strut their stuff on stage.

The show really was an assault on the senses, and I loved every second of it.

This year’s theme is ‘Dream Awake’. Picture: Instagram @worldofwearableart

Acrobats are a big part of the show. Picture: Instagram / @worldofwearableart

Wellington’s most popular event

I’m not the only one who’s been wowed by WOW.

Each year more than 60,000 people attend the show during its two-week run, making it Wellington’s biggest annual event.

It’s also a drawcard for designers, including Aussie Jill Perry who has entered the competition four times.

“It’s really the Academy Awards of wearable art,” Jill told me. “It’s great fun, it’s inspiring and it excites people.”

Jill’s entry this year was called ‘Triptych Fashionistas’ and it came in second place in the ‘open’ category when the WOW winners were announced on September 27.

Triptych Fashionistas by Jill Perry from Queensland.

“I usually get inspired by something I see, more often than not it’s in a hardware store, and then I’ll think, ‘right, I love that, how can I repurpose this and put it into something that’s wearable but also kind of chic at the same time,’” she said.

‘Triptych Fashionistas’ was partly inspired by dog bowls which feature heavily in Jill’s piece.

“I worked on the design for six months,” Jill told me. “Six days a week, six hours each day.”

Jill estimates her piece cost her “thousands and thousands” of dollars, a financial outlay that was softened by the $8000 she won in prize money this year.

“Like most creative people, you can nearly always do with it,” she said about the winnings, “but I would rather have the accolades and than the money.”

This year she walked away with both, having also won the WOW Australia/Pacific International Design Award.

Towards the end of my chat with Jill, I asked her why she thought Aussies should head over to Wellington to check out the WOW show.

“Well, let me tell you this. My brother, Andrew, came with me this year and it was his first time seeing the show,” Jill said.

“He speaks very plainly about things, he’s very straightforward, and when he came out of the show he said, ‘Wow, I had no idea, that was incredible! I’ll definitely come back again.’”

And just like Andrew, so too will I.

This writer travelled to New Zealand as a guest of WOW and WellingtonNZ