World of WearableArt in pictures

Thursday, 25 September 2025

The glitz! The glamour! The winners! It's the World of WearableArt!

This year’s World of WearableArt competition held its awards gala at Wellington’s TSB Arena on Friday night, marking the formal beginning of the 2½- week WOW season.

RISE is the theme for this year’s competition, the idea being “that the world of the show is this cityscape where you become illuminated in the creative spirit, so the cast and all the garments become these communities”, says chief executive Meg Williams. “It’s going to feel like a blast of sunshine energy.”

Added to the usual Aotearoa, Avant-garde, and Open sections are Air, Myths & Legends and Neon.

Visual journalist Monique Ford went along to opening night and here are some of her selections.