RED CARPET EVENT

World of WearableArt opens

More than 100 garments made out of everything from tyre tubes to latex and thermoplastic were flaunted during last night’s World of WearableArt (WOW) opening in a show the director hopes will help us find our wildness.

New Zealand’s most spectacular stage production will be watched by almost 60,000 people over the next 16 days, bringing $25 million to the region’s economy.

In the 29th WOW show, 122 designers from 13 countries will compete for a total prize pool of $160,200, including two plum internships – one at international childhood wonder and our wildness. As adults, we get addicted to our busy lives, phones and work schedules; this show is about refinding that wildness. ‘‘The artists all understand the value of cherishing creativity, imagination and passion in their lives,’’ says the actor, writer and director.

The world’s leading wearable arts show will be watched by 3500 people each night. Featuring a cast of 350 across theatre, dance, music and production, the story hovers around a central character, Lucy – who is played by eight different children – actress Alison Bruce, and 90-year-old Dame Kate Harcourt. Musician Don McGlashan has written the score and curated the music.

Grace Du Val is here from Chicago for her third WOW show, and her garment, Refuse Refuge ,is made out of bicycle inner-tubes and spokes, which the American artist collected from rubbish bins.

‘‘There is no other show like this in the world. It’s the Olympics of wearable arts,’’ says the 29-yearold, who took a year to make her 30-kilogram garment.

She’s one of 16 finalists in the science-fiction section, for which designers were asked to create a garment that imagined the world in 3036. ‘‘I imagined the idea of what would we do if all we had left was what we have left behind. It’s a warrior piece.’’

Founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff has the difficult task of choosing the top winners in eight categories, helped by a team of judges, including fashion designer Kerrie Hughes, artist Michel Tuffery, Cirque du Soleil’s Valerie Desjardins and Teneille Ferguson, a buyer for David Jones.

❚ Tickets are still available to some WOW shows at worldofwearableart.com.

PHOTOS: MAARTEN HOLL/STUFF Jo Marie Odgers’ entry, I’m a Sucker, in the World of WearableArt’s illumination illusion section: Float, Fly, Flow. Below: Among the designs in this year’s red category is Life Pulse (Biological Microuniverse) by Singapore entrant Galina Mihaleva.

Vicky Robertson’s red section design: Minaret Sunset.

Taiwanese entrant Pei-Yu Hsu is competing in the Aotearoa section with her Artificial Consciousness garment.

The Broken Doll was created by Kiwi designer Florence Dosdane for the competition’s open section.

circus group Cirque du Soleil, the other at Weta Workshop. Show director Kip Chapman has created a show that he says his 10-year-old self would have loved. ‘‘It reminds us about our