World of Wearable Art facts for kids
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The World of WearableArt (WOW) is a huge international design competition. It brings together artists from over 40 countries every year. Designers create amazing art pieces that people can actually wear! Judges look at how strong the art is, if it's safe and comfy for models, and how it looks on stage. About 60,000 people come to watch this exciting event in Wellington, New Zealand. The main show in 2020 was canceled because of COVID-19. Instead, there was a special exhibit in Wellington. The show made a big return in 2022.
The Story of WOW
WOW started in Nelson in 1987. It was created by a talented person named Suzie Moncrieff. The very first show was small, with only 200 people watching. It was held at the William Higgins Gallery. By 1990, the show had grown and moved to the Trafalgar Centre.
The competition became so popular that Nelson was too small to hold it! So, in 2005, WOW moved to Wellington, the capital city. Suzie Moncrieff's sister, Heather Palmer, helped run the competition for many years. In 2022, Suzie and Heather sold WOW to Hideaki Fukutake.
In 2019, Sarah Foster-Sproull was the choreographer for the festival. This means she planned all the dances and movements for the models. In 2023, Meg Williams became the chief executive of WOW. She used to be in charge of the New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
WOW's Past Exhibitions
For a while, there was a special place called the World of WearableArt and Classic Cars Collection. It showed off many of the amazing garments from the WOW Awards Show. It also had a collection of about 140 cool classic cars. This exhibition closed in May 2020 because of problems from COVID-19.
However, the car part of the collection stayed open! It reopened in August 2020 as the Nelson Classic Car Museum. The original WOW exhibition first opened its doors in Nelson in October 2001.
Images for kids
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A classic 1936 Pierce Arrow car.
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A stylish 1964 Gordon Keeble car.
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