Category Archives: Design

Wow! It’s the World of WearableArt™!

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American Dream. Designed by Sarah Thomas of Timaru, NZ. Winner 2009 American Express Open Section. Winner 2009 Weta Award. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

If I’m honest, I was very surprised. I had always thought of Nelson, New Zealand as a pleasant, agricultural town boasting also a port, a nice beach and a bit of a boutique feel. For most tourists visiting the South Island, it serves as a gateway to the spectacular wilds of the Nelson Lakes, Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks. I did not expect Nelson to be the home of one of the more astonishing testaments to the human impulse to create beautiful stuff.

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Firebird. Designed by Susan Holmes, Auckland. 2009 Winner Untouched World WOW Factor Award. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

The World of WearableArt™ – or WOW – began as the brainchild of Suzie Moncrieff who, in 1987, organised an event to promote a rural art gallery in Nelson. Her unique idea has grown into a major annual show held in Wellington. It draws entries from all over the globe. The garments entered for the shows are stunning in their design and manufacture; their exhibition is carefully choreographed. The Nelson-based and permanent manifestation of these shows is the tastefully designed World of WearableArt™ and Classic Cars Museum.

WOW Museum

To glimpse the World of WearableArt™ is to be seduced into a world of heart-stopping beauty and mind-numbing creativity. It is more than fashion. It is more than costume. It is more than theatre. It is at once thrilling and inspiring.

Good advice would be to make New Zealand your destination and take in the World of WearableArt™. Better advice would be to make the World of WearableArt™ your destination and take in New Zealand. So why all the hype? Here are some of the winners. Just enjoy!

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Conversations with Guggenheim. Designed by Rodney Leong of Auckland, NZ. Winner 2008 Centre Port Wellington Inspired by Architecture Section.

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Dragon Fish. Designed by Susan Holmes of Auckland, NZ. Winner of the 1996 Silk Section. Winner of the 1996 Chez Eelco Supreme WearableArt™ Award.

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The Beehive Bra. Designed by Narresh Kukreja & Shivan Bhatia, India. Commended 2006 Scenic Circle Hotels Bizarre Bra Section. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

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Reflection. Designed by Erna & Karl Van der Wat of Auckland, NZ. Winner 2011 WOW® Factor Award. Winner 2011 Dominion Post People’s Choice Award. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

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Hylonome. Designed by Mary Wing To of United Kingdom. Winner 2011 Brancott Estate Supreme WOW® Award. Winner 2011 Tourism New Zealand Avant Garde. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

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Superminx. Designed by Simon Hames of Wellington, NZ. Winner 1999 Montana Supreme WearableArt Award. Winner 1999 Smythes Solicitors Dynasties and Empires Section. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

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Lady of the Wood. Designed by David Walker, United States. Winner 2009 Montana Supreme WOW® Award. Winner 200 Tourism New Zealand Avant Garde Section. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

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Hermacea. Designed by Jan Kerr, Paraparumu, NZ. Winner 2011 WETA Award
Winner 2011 American Express Open Section. Photo credit: World of WearableArt™ Ltd

World of WearableArt™ is an original concept created by Suzie Moncrieff in 1987 and owned by World of WearableArt™ Limited. Images reproduced here by kind permission of World of WearableArt™ and Classic Cars Museum; Nelson, New Zealand.

Martin La Roche: an imagination for urban details

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Martin La Roche 3Martin La Roche trained in graphic design in London. He then went on to work in fashionable studios in Paris and Cairo. He is fascinated by big cities. As much as he settles anywhere, he has settled in Geneva. This 37 year-old polyglot tells me the best part of his work as an interior designer is when a plan is executed to his satisfaction. I can’t resist asking about the worst part. He hesitates; there is a mischievous smile on his face. “It’s when someone loves something I’ve totally screwed up!”

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Martin’s only hobby, on which he spends hours, is drawing. He labours over minutely detailed pen-and-ink urban scenes. His first exhibition in 2011 was a series of aerial views of imaginary but detailed street-views. They are delicate and static; every feature is spaced to give a monotone, Japanese feel. These works are perfect for the walls of the chic offices in Geneva’s business quarter.

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A friend challenged him to do something similar based on a real city. Martin freely admits to the influence of Turgot’s 1734 Plan de Paris in meeting the challenge. He has executed a remarkable 360 degree view of Geneva centred over Place Bourg de Four. It is not imaginary, but I simply cannot imagine how he did it.