World of WearableArt’s ‘GLO!’ Is a Celebration of Culture, Nature, and Whimsy

Avant-garde style, technology, and performance converge in a fantastical, joyous competition every year in New Zealand. World of WearableArt is a vibrant multimedia competition established in 1987, which continues to invite entrants from around the world to sew and sculpt their most ambitious garments. Whimsical and technically impressive, many of the works call upon cultural traditions, while others tap into nature, futurism, and the chimerical.

This year’s show is titled GLO!, with Kayla Christensen of New Zealand taking the top prize for her work “Sacred Nightfall,” a spectacularly noble, draped floral garment that nods to Indigenous ceremonial cloaks. Additional standouts include the enigmatic “Enchantress” by Ashish Dhaka and an iridescent insect by Katherine Bertram, among many others. Performances of GLO! continue through October 4 at TBS Arena in Wellington. See more on the program’s site.

an elaborate handmade garment with blue flowers and a huge cape-like feature, worn by a performer on a stage with projections of blue flowers in the background — Kayla Christensen, (New Zealand), “Sacred Nightfall”

an elaborate, avant-garde, geometric outfit with a large, minimal mask totally shielding the face and a wide, angular skirt — Glenda Hape (Ngāti Pūkeko, New Zealand), “Te Whare Eke Nei”

an elaborate garment being performed on stage in the form of an insect — Katherine Bertram More (New Zealand), “More”

an elaborate garment being performed on stage in the form of a very long-armed, cylindrical, abstract figure with a disk-like head — Ashish Dhaka (India), “Enchantress”

three elaborate outfits worn by dancers on a stage — Zhiqian Li (China), “Hen”

an elegant, avant-garde, handmade garment with draping, lacy, mushroom cap-like forms on the head and around the body — Lisa Newsome (New Zealand), “Platinum”

two people in a duo costume-garment, one with telephones on her top and the other in an elaborate petticoat-type outfit, talking on one of the phones — Deborah H Carter and Ariel Biagini (United States), Ringing Off the Hook”

an elaborate handmade gown being demonstrated on stage, with elements that look like giant, geometrically folded candy wrappers — Vasemaca Tavola and Czarina Wilson (New Zealand), “MOTHER VAKA”

an elaborate handmade gown with details of black and white swans — Shing Hei (Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong), “My Ugly Duckling”

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