BEHIND THE SEAMS
Three local designers reveal what it takes to be accepted into one of the country’s most prestigious, and arguably most creative, design shows – the wonderful World of WearableArt.
WORDS PIP CROMBIE / PHOTOS ALAN GIBSON + ANNE SHIRLEY + SUPPLIED
Whether as a career pinnacle or pure entertainment, the World of WearableArt (aka WOW – September 17 to October 4) is a significant fixture on the annual calendar for those who love fashion, creativity, drama and theatre. Sophisticated, swashbuckling and sensorial, it’s a show you simply must experience.
A sumptuous visual feast, WOW thrills audience who travel from far and wide to celebrate the creativity of those who are bold, brave and beyond ingenious in their artistic resourcefulness. Conceived by Nelson sculptor Suzie Moncrieff in 1987, it challenges designers to bring art to life.
The first show was attended by 200. In 2005, it relocated to Wellington, a move made to facilitate WOW’s creative and commercial growth. It paid off. Audience size surged 60 percent, with 28,000 attending that year. WOW is now seen by more than 60,000 people annually in sold-out shows that run for two weeks.
GLO! is the theme for 2026. Embedded in this are recurring competition sections (or ‘worlds’) Aotearoa, Avant-garde and Open, plus three unique themes announced annually. This year, they’re Bizarre Bra, Kinetic and Metallic.
The show itself is the culmination of a fierce competition, when finalists’ creations get their moment to shine. Secrecy shrouds the garments until they make their appearance and the winners are announced live. Careers have been launched on the WOW stage, talents recognised, opportunities offered.
So who are the people behind the wearable art, what drives them, qualifies them, tempts them to turn visual concepts into reality? Let’s meet three Tauranga locals who have achieved the coveted status of WOW 2026 finalist – each in very different ways.
ANNE-MARIE SIMON Anne-Marie Simon has worked on the education side of fashion since 2008, as a tutor at Toi Ohomai Polytechnic. Prior to this, she worked as a machinist, pattern-maker, production manager and designer, and overseas manufacturing interior soft goods for luxury launches. Over the years, she’s successfully entered art and design events such as the Miles Art Award and the Parkin Drawing Prize, enjoying working with textiles and thread to explore non-traditional creative works.
In 2025, Anne-Marie undertook academic research following her 2018 Master of Educational Leadership. For this, she explored the impact of technology on wearable art design and how designers integrate digital and traditional textile techniques in their creative practice. “Although new technology has an important place and enables outcomes that would likely be impossible by hand, you still have to have the creative idea, and bring that vision to life,” she explains.
Interviewing and surveying previous WOW finalists about their processes and techniques inspired Anne-Marie to enter. She combined both traditional and digital techniques, experimenting, testing and problem-solving along the way, over many months and late nights in her home studio. Did her research influence her garment? “Absolutely – that and a large bucket of RJ’s Licorice Allsorts. The experience has also led to my next project, The Digital Seam, an exhibition I’m curating for Toi Ohomai’s Mauao Gallery in October, featuring works from previous WOW finalists. I’m thrilled that Georgia [Chalmers-Jones, overleaf] will be part of the panel on opening day!”
GEORGIA CHALMERS-JONES Film and television costumer Georgia Chalmers-Jones has entered WOW three times, each time gaining a finalist nomination. In 2023, she was a sectional winner with her first piece, The Golden Age of Queens, inspired by the reigning queens of the 14th and 15th centuries. The mainly leather piece was made with traditional leather tooling (largely self-taught) and by hand-cutting the lace with a scalpel.
Having studied at the South Seas Film & Television School in 2013, then worked in the UK for a couple of years on Outlaw King and Outlander, Georgia has been part of the film industry for 10-plus years, contributing to movies and TV shows including East of Eden, Spartacus, Time Bandits and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She’s currently working in Wellington on The Hunt for Gollum, and when UNO spoke to her, she was “hiding in a cupboard because it’s so noisy in the design room! I’m usually part of a 50- to 80-strong costume department... embroiderers, jewellers, sculptors, seamstresses, dye and textile technicians, art finishers, illustrators, leather workers. Each is so skilled and exacting in their craft, there’s such a wealth of knowledge and shared techniques that I can learn from and experience in my day-to-day.”
While creating her current piece for WOW, Georgia was working on The Legend of Zelda. “I made it at home in every spare moment I could find. I didn’t have enough space to paint it, so I laid dropcloths in the lounge. It wasn’t quite as wild as my 2024 entry, Hakuturi, though. For that, I had to soak and flatten the ends of nīkau palm leaf before I could cut it, and the only way was to get in the shower wearing it.”
EMMA HIGHFIELD A six-time finalist since 2007, Emma Highfield’s no stranger to fashion. After completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts, she launched a bespoke lingerie brand. “I handcrafted everything myself; I’m a self-taught pattern-maker and seamstress. My designs, Emma Highfield Lingerie, were showcased in [lingerie show] Project Born in 2012, alongside Wētā Workshop. I’ve always loved creating art in many mediums. I’m a co-founder at [women’s fashion label] Dear Dylan, which is very design-based work, but also very different to my personal creative pursuits. WOW’s an opportunity to explore my interests in new and exciting ways.”
Having had a break as she grew her business and became a mother, she’s back with passion. Her 2026 entry was inspired by time spent in her flower beds, an environment where growth is shaped by tenacity and care. “It’s always such an amazing achievement to be selected as a finalist and have my work showcased in such a spectacular event,” she says. “I already have a few exciting concepts I’m pondering for WOW 2027.”
Like Georgia and Emma, Anne-Marie’s work may become a fixture at WOW as well. “Regardless of the judging outcome, this experience has inspired me to enter WOW again,” she says. “I was thrilled and genuinely shocked to be accepted. After researching and admiring the work of previous finalists, it feels quite surreal to now be one myself.”
Georgia agrees. “It’s always such an amazing feeling. It’s both a sigh of relief and intense. You spend all that time creating and making and putting your soul into the piece, then you wait while it goes through the judging process, and you almost forget you have an entry. It’s so exciting to see how it’s featured on stage.
“I’ve caught the bug,” she continues. “I was warned by another designer after my first entry, that it’s a real possibility that you’ll give up a good chunk of your life to create a new and exciting piece every year, if you can. It’s definitely not a bad problem to have!” WOW fans are in for a treat, and the judges have a challenge on their hands.