Surprisingly, when we think of fashion designers we always think of a world of creativity. But what we actually get to see are the same old styles with a stitch here, a cut there or a tuck somewhere else. We rarely see any wacky designs or anything new and breathtakingly different.
This is where WOW, the World Of Wearable Art (WOW) awards of New Zealand helps unleash the creative juices of young designers to create really mad designs using equally weird materials like tires, metals, wires, foam, vinyl, pipes, rubber sheets, gel etc..
The brainchild of New Zealand sculptor Suzie Moncrieff, WOW is New Zealand's biggest social extravaganza that takes "art off the wall, out of static display and adorns the human body in wildly wonderful ways". For 16 years it's a unique art meets fashion concept that explores the human body as a living canvas to depict art that brings intrigue, excitement and appreciation for creative innovation.
FDCI's (Fashion Design Council of India) association with WOW spans over six years and each year they invite Indian fashion students to present their ideas in different sections like Children, Man Unleashed, Gen-I, Avant-garde and others. This year too, over 150 students had sent their entries but only 16 have been selected to participate in the worldwide competition to be held in August in New Zealand.
Lokmani Narayan of NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), New Delhi, one of the selected, who has created Impulsive Swords, says, "To have a WOW like competition in India would be great but I wonder how many will accept this kind of creativity as Indians still prefer to follow the age old trends. But it would be great to create something which would inspire and set new trends."
