IT'S A WOMAD KIND OF WORLD
Known to deliver a few humorous, honest and inspirational talks in her time, the entrepreneur will share her world in words
Co-founder of the WORLD fashion house, established in 1989 with Francis Hooper, Denise L’Estrange-Corbet is not only a fashion designer but also a mother, published author, actor, ambassador and ardent supporter of New Zealand-made products. The 2017 winner of the Westpac Women of Influence Award for Arts and Culture will share her story in Womad’s World of Words. Tara Shaskey reports.
Womad is such a diverse lineup of talent from all around the globe, for people who may not have heard of you, describe what you do? I am a published author, designer, business owner, artist, and huge supporter of New Zealand made everything.
From where do you draw your inspiration? From everything and everyone around me.
What’s been the highlight of your career thus far? There have been so many, but the standout is still winning the Avant Garde award in 1995 at the Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards with our origami outfit, which now sits in the Auckland Museum.
Please share with us something about your home country/city/town that we may not know? It has a lot of sheep, beautiful scenery, amazing brand called WORLD, and my favourite place is Glenorchy in the South Island.
What are you most looking forward to about Womad? Partying with my friend Terry Parkes MNZM, I hear he is quite a celebrity in New Plymouth. He has a piece of art by Reuben Paterson that I have had my eye on for quite a while, I tried putting it into my bag once, but got caught.
Have you been to Womad before, if so, what were your thoughts? No, I haven’t, so I am really looking forward to it.
Why is it important for the people of the world to hear different styles of music? People are different, as are their tastes, so we have to have diversity in everything.
What are a couple of things that make you happy? Iaman ambassador for the IHC Art Awards, and travel the country each year to visit the artists and see their work. Their happy faces when they describe what they are doing is just wondrous, you cannot help but be happy for them, their smiles are infectious. Being in the water all day on a hot day, I can swim all day, and playing with my dogs, they are just the best buddies you could have.
Do you have any projects you are working on at the moment? If so, what are they about? I’m always working on projects, but cannot release any details yet.
Featuring six stages delivering 30 hours of entertainment over three days, Womad NZ 2018 is on from March 16 to 18. The day schedule will be released in December 2017. Tickets are on sale now.