In New Zealand, avant-garde style, technology, and performance collide each year at World of WearableArt, a multimedia competition established in 1987 that invites creators from around the globe to sew and sculpt their most ambitious garments. The current edition, titled GLO!, channels culture, nature, futurism, and the chimerical into a stage spectacle. Performances continue through October 4 at TBS Arena in Wellington.
Top honors this year went to Kayla Christensen (New Zealand) for “Sacred Nightfall”, a commanding draped floral work that pays tribute to Indigenous ceremonial cloaks. It’s a fitting emblem for a program where technical ingenuity and storytelling share the spotlight.
Highlights from GLO!
Among the many standouts are pieces that range from the enigmatic to the luminous. Ashish Dhaka (India) presents “Enchantress”, and Katherine Bertram (New Zealand) conjures an iridescent insect, underscoring the show’s affinity for natural forms pushed into fantastical territory. Additional works named in this year’s lineup include:
- Joe Blanck (Australia), “Lophii.”
- Glenda Hape (Ngāti Pūkeko, New Zealand), “Te Whare Eke Nei”
- Zhiqian Li (China), “Hen”
- Lisa Newsome (New Zealand), “Platinum”
- Deborah H Carter and Ariel Biagini (United States), “Ringing Off the Hook”
- Vasemaca Tavola and Czarina Wilson (New Zealand), “MOTHER VAKA”
- Shing Hei (Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong), “My Ugly Duckling”
Whimsical and technically impressive, the garments span references from cultural traditions to speculative futures. That breadth is a hallmark of World of WearableArt, which continues to welcome international entrants to test the limits of material, movement, and imagination on a grand stage in New Zealand.
With GLO! unfolding at TBS Arena through October 4, Wellington hosts a vivid reminder that performance and craft can be inseparable—each garment as much a feat of engineering as it is a story brought to life.
