Wellington's World of WearableArt 2019

Five Australian designers have won awards at the World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards in Wellington, New Zealand. The 2019 Awards Competition and Show features 108 finalist garments by 115 designers from 22 countries and regions all vying for the opportunity to win one of 34 awards and a share of more than NZ$180,000 in prizes.

Kirsten Fletcher of Queensland won The Residency Experience Award with her garment Woven In-tent. The Residency Experience Award prize includes the opportunity for Kirsten to show up to five pieces of her work at the exclusive Residency Experience showroom in Los Angeles for a three-month period. Kirsten will also receive NZD $5,000, a $2,500 travel prize to allow her to visit The Residency showroom in L.A. and exposure on The Residency social channels.

B. Åkerlund, Los Angeles-based fashion activist, celebrity stylist and co-founder of The Residency Experience partnered with World of WearableArt to launch the Residency Experience Award. B. was looking for a designer whose WOW garment exemplified exceptional cutting-edge design. "Woven In-tent is pure couture with an incredible message around sustainability. It has been exquisitely finished and the pieces are strong together and individually," she said.

Kirsten's garment Woven In-tent also won the International Design Award: Australia & Pacific, was the runner up to the Supreme WOW Award and came second in the Avant-garde Section .

The judging panel said, "We absolutely loved the story and thought behind this entry - the two pieces are complementary yet subtly different and Kirsten has demonstrated a precision that you wouldn't think could be achieved by hand. Woven In-tent uses clever composition and every element is perfect, we particularly loved the linear forms that wrap the body."

Tara Morelos, Ahmad Mollahassani & Nelia Justo of Sydney came third in the Transform Section with their garment Infini-D.

Michelle Wade of New South Wales came third in the White Section with Enlightened, the garment she worked on with her New Zealand-based brother Adam Wade.

For three weeks every year, the internationally renowned wearable art competition showcases the finalist entries in a spectacular theatrical show in New Zealand's vibrant capital city of Wellington. An audience of around 60,000 people are expected to attend the 2019 World of WearableArt Awards Show season, with many travelling from around New Zealand and the world to attend this must-see annual event.

This year's Supreme WOW Award winner is The Lady Warrior by Rinaldy Yunardi of Jakarta, Indonesia. This is the second time Rinaldy has been crowned Supreme WOW Award winner - he first won in 2017 for his garment Encapsulate , which was also the Open Section Award winner.

Rinaldy created The Lady Warrior with the toughest warrior of all in mind - the woman. The Lady Warrior plays the role of daughter, wife and mother. She is about inner strength rather than brute physical strength. "I used various mediums of materials to represent different elements of The Lady Warrior . Recycled paper made into rope and woven tightly together represents humanity and inner strength built from her experiences - she was born vulnerable but with life experiences she has strengthened and become strong" he says.

World of WearableArt Founder and Resident Judge Dame Suzie Moncrieff says The Lady Warrior is "a garment that the judges described as an extraordinary metamorphosis of a fragile organic material into something so beautiful. Demonstrating perfect balance and form, as well as immaculate craftsmanship, The Lady Warrior conveys a stunning fragility which is perfectly balanced with a subtle strength. The judges particularly loved the use of traditional weaving to create a piece that is so contemporary."

Rinaldy also won the Avant-garde Section and the International Design Award: Asia with The Lady Warrior.

In 2019, designers from 43 countries and regions entered in the hope of their garment making it through the judging process and appearing on stage as a World of WearableArt Awards finalist. Finalists come from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds, professional and non-professional, and working in the fields of fashion, art, costume and theatre, along with students and first-time entrants.

This year the 115 finalist designers were presented with six design provocations, which subsequently form the six worlds of the stage show. Three of these thematic worlds are recurring - Aotearoa, Avant-garde and Open, and three are new for 2019 - Mythology, Transform and White.

WOW's 2019 judging panel is comprised of WOW Founder and resident judge Dame Suzie Moncrieff, innovative Auckland-based designer James Dobson of fashion label Jimmy D and acclaimed multimedia sculptor Gregor Kregar. In addition, a number of awards were judged by Sir Richard Taylor, CEO and Creative Director of Weta Workshop, B. Å kerlund, iconic fashion activist and co-founder of The Residency Experience in Los Angeles, and Melissa Thompson, Cirque du Soleil's Montreal-based Creative Intelligence Team Lead + Conceptrice.

Dame Suzie Moncrieff, WOW Founder and resident judge says: "Each year we are presented with the most extraordinary garments and each year it gets harder and harder to judge as there are so many outstanding works. This year has been no exception. I have been astounded by the wide range of materials used and the intricacy and originality of the designs. It is the highlight of my year and is an exhilarating and humbling experience to view this stage full of the world's best examples of wearable art and to appreciate the immense amount of work that goes into each one of them".

The World of WearableArt Awards Show is on at TSB Arena, Wellington from September 26 until October 13. Tickets and more information at worldofwearableart.com