It’s World of WearableArt season again, where scores of ladies (and some gents) converge upon the capital it witness the extravaganza that is the World of WearableArt show. This year’s awards show was held on Friday night, and again The Wellingtonista was invited along for the WOWstravaganza.
The fun of the WOW show is that it’s never just models walking down a catwalk. For a start, WOW uses dancers (and some of the costumes require physical strength and stamina to wear) and that catwalk is an three-headed serpent with rotating circles for maximum display potential.
After the jump, winners and pics galore!
OMG. The Wellington Botanic Gardens, currently teeming with life and colour and general springtime joy, gets a mention on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons, the first of the new series.
The episode guest stars local boys made good Bret and Jemaine Conchords, and the pair use the Botanic Gardens good name for great lolz:
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJkdPbpoc5s]And remember the annual Spring Festival is currently happening at the Botanic Gardens, so why not take the opportunity to frollick in the spring blooms and say you were down with the gardens before they were famous.
I’ve just got back from the WOW Awards Show, so here’s a quickie post with the winner and runner up.
The winner of the 2010 Montana Supreme World of WearableArt Award was Loops by Yogesh Chaudhary and Manas Barve, both design young students from India. Loops is a seamless piece made from felted Australian merino:
The runner up to the Supreme WOW Award was Horridus Lynn Christiansen of the USA. Inspired by the thorny devil lizard (Moloch horridus), it’s made of copper and had a distinct clatter as the model moved in it:
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A full report on the WOW experience will come soon, including the bit where Jo forced me to touch Te Radar’s lovely soft curly hair.
WOW season kicks off today, as the city turns into the World of WearableArt.
The Montana World of WearableArt shows kick off at TSB Arena tonight, with the awards show on Friday night. The Wellingtonista Will be there to report on the 2010 winners and general goings-on.
Most of the shows are sold out, but there are still a few $50 "restricted view" tickets left to most shows – a good option if you’ve always wanted to experience the extravagant WOW show.
But as always, there are other ways of experiencing the magic of WOW.
WoW designer Susan Holmes has a number of her previous entries on display at various locations around the city, incliding the Museum Hotel, TSB Arena and the airport.
Various Wellington retailers are getting crafty with their own version of WearableArt on display, complete with goodie bags and other prizes for lucky shoppers.
And coming up on Sunday 3 October at Te Papa is Get Set Create, a one-hour challenge for WOW designers to come up with a creation.
So strap on your bizarre bra and get down with the WOW.
The newly launched New Zealand Fashion Museum aims to preserve and celebrate New Zealand’ fashion history.
It doesn’t have a physical location, instead displaying exhibitions in pop-up locations.
Its first exhibition is Looking Terrific – the Story of El Jay, looking at the career of fashion designer Gus Fisher and his label El Jay.
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El Jay held the exclusive New Zealand licence for Christian Dior designers, bringing elegant frocks to New Zealand women wanting some Parisian chic.
The exhibition is on display at Kirkaldie and Stains, which aptly enough was one of El Jay’s stockists back in the day.
The Looking Terrific collection spans 40 years of El Jay, from the ’40s to the ’80s, with all garments borrowed from private collections – often the original owner.
The exhibition runs until 3 October, and can be viewed inside (and outside) Kirks on Lambton Quay.
Creating content on the interwebs is all very well, but sometimes one has the need to express oneself in IRL.
Fortunately the council have forseen this need and erected giant triangles of expression around town. There’s one under the umbrella sculpture at James Smiths Corner, and other by the tripod sculpture down the other end of Courtenay.
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So what incindiary messages will we see? People sticking it to the man and/or lady? Telling the politicians where to go?
Or perhaps something charming and delightful.
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So, the Canterbury earthquake. Our thoughts are with our friends and whaunau in the area, and we’re so glad that there haven’t been any fatalities *hugz*
But, of course, living in the shaky city of Wellington, it makes us aware of the importance of being prepared should such a big one hit our fair city. Remember – parts of the two roads out of the city run along the fault line.
Resources for preparedness in an earthquake:
In the meantime, let’s count our blessings – we have electricity, telecommunications, running water, sewerage and a roof over our heads.
One News reporter Vicki Wilkinson-Bakers tells it like it is – the toilets at Wellington Station are bloody disgusting.
[O]ver the last couple of years conditions have varied – from utterly disgusting, truly disgusting, filthy, so smelly you don’t want to breathe, to generally grubby and unpleasant.
In my experience of the ladies’ loos, they seem almost perpetually grubby, the toilet walls are covered with schoolgirl graffiti, the rubbish bins regularly overflow and the discarded debris of urban life – ripped pantihose packets, bananas, wine bottles and lipstick packaging. And then there’s the issue of the narrow doors you have to dodge through to enter the toilet room.
The trouble, it seems, is these are really heavy duty, high-use public toilets that are set up for and maintained like much lower-use loos.
Wilkinson-Baker notes:
A while back, staff explained that the railway station is very busy. That’s true, it is, but so is Wellington Airport and their public toilets are fine. Shopping malls are busy, so are picture theatres. They manage to keep things clean and tidy. I’m assured the railway station toilets are cleaned every two or three hours. But it’s not enough. Maybe they need someone there fulltime.
It’s a really simple demand – clean toilets. Is this really too difficult for Kiwirail to manage?
It’s time for another Pecha Kucha Night, but this one is a little different from previous ones – this time it’s the Latino Connection!
People who have come from or gone to the spicy side of the South Pacific will share their stories. Like all PKNs, there’s something for everyone.
El Line-up:
Bella Kalolo – Singer/Entertainer – Lost In Paraguay
Warwick Murray – Musician – From Birmingham Days to Santiago Nights
Amelia Lobo Martinez – Journalist – La Apasionante Historia De Manuel Jose
Alda Rezende – Singer – Minas Gerais State, Brazil
Natalia Parra – Artist – Wellington Through the Eyes of a Colombian Artist
Cori Gonzalez-Macuer – Comedian – How to be Funny in Another Country
Katia Guiloff – Documentary Maker – Musicircus
Alice Hang – World Citizen – Perceptions
Irene Morales – Guatiwi – The Curse of Dr Ropata
Rich Dunmore – Media & Animation Specialist – Tres Amigos
Carlos Navarrete Aka “Carlos Navae” – Musician – Acapulco Soul Machín
María Marquez De Satyanand – Educator – A Work in Progress
This Pecha Kucha will be held at Downstage Theatre, Monday 6 September.
Doors open at 6.30 with a 7.30 start. Tickets are $9 on the door, cash only.
The December Brother is the newest production from the SEEyD Theatre Company. It comprises of three mini plays, all linked with the common form of family and the search for truth.
