Arty yet wearable

The whole ‘wearable arts’ thing made me feel think of homespun, hand dyed sheep’s wool or something. Or that the costume would be crocheted together with shards of hand thrown pottery from someone’s backyard kiln glued on…

I start this article with a bit of a disclaimer. I didn’t actually go to WOW this year expecting very much. I haven’t been before, and to be perfectly honest I think I had a few pre-conceived, but incorrect notions about the Wellington institution itself.

The whole ‘wearable arts’ thing made me feel think of homespun, hand dyed sheep’s wool or something. Or that the costume would be crocheted together with shards of hand thrown pottery from someone’s backyard kiln glued on. Think homespun, and handmade… I was right about the handmade – but NOT the homespun.

I mean, how exciting can it be with a huge bunch of costumes parading past? That would be over in about 1/2 an hour so how come it is two hours long? I think maybe I just haven’t been paying attention for all these years. I have seen plenty of great theatre, fabulous dance/ballet and clothing/costumes over the years – I just wasn’t prepared to see them all in one place. Nor was I expecting to see them presented so slickly, and with such a sense of humour.

Pictured left: Skin, MarjolienDallinga, Canada. 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show.

For the uninitiated (like myself) the awards have been around since their inception in Nelson in 1987, and over 300,000 people have seen the awards over the years. While we were sitting in the audience we realised a lot of people around us had been before; it is a feature of the Wellington Arts Calendar. It appears to me to have the common touch in all the right ways – beautifully presented, tightly produced and pitched perfectly to please almost everyone.

Below: Iron Maiden Sally Davies & Chris Nutter, Invercargill, 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show.

This year there were seven sections starting with the Children’s Section. This is the ‘cutest’ of the sections, and a nice way to start. This is followed by the Illumination Illusion Section, Creative Excellence (Under the Microscope this year), Open Section, Man Unleashed (Re-Dress the Groom), Avant Garde and finally the Kiwi Icon Section. Between each section, the stage was re-dressed, and character actors, or dancers appeared to change the tempo of the evening. There was a lot of visual humour – and not just the stage was used. Quite often the actors popped up in the middle of the audience – just to keep you on your toes.

We had tried beforehand to not see who had won, just so we could see it all with fresh eyes. We have included our absolute favourites – and interestingly, they were all prizewinners. During the show itself it isn’t evident exactly who has won, but at the end they run a short film with all the prizewinners.

Interestingly, aside from the actual costumes themselves, the dance companies that performed – Royal New Zealand Ballet, Footnote Dance and the entire first year of the New Zealand School of Dance – were all worth the entrance price alone. There is one truly remarkable piece that is done with chairs – the male dancers lying on the floor – and it is filmed from above onto the back wall. Very surreal, and clever too. This is followed by the female dancers with long trains of silk behind them which they slowly remove showing a bright blast of colour each time they do. It was breathtaking.

We got the chance to speak to Steve Brown, creator of our favourite costume. Below: When Brunel meets Chanel, 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show.

I had assumed that the costume had been steam-punk inspired, but it turned out not to be the case. Steve had created a particular piece of art for a client (he is mostly a photographer – but appears to have a great many creative bones in his body), when a friend asked if he had acquired a piece of steam punk art (the piece he had just finished). He actually thought he had created a new type of art – but as we know steam punk in its various guises has been around for many years – even as far back at Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the sea. It was in fact this book that he had used to inspire him when he made that particular piece of art and it is that book that inspired other authors to start what has become steam punk. Steam punk is a world where steam has remained as the principal power source and is often combined with Victoriana. The inspiration for this dress was if the noted British engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel had accidentally met Coco Chanel in Paris. Brunel’s father was French – so maybe not so much of a tall tale? This would be a steam punk’s version of a little black dress then…

Constructed out of laminated wood, PVC, leather and copper, what is all the more startling about this costume (which he won third place with in the Avant Garde section) is that it is his first entry in WOW ever. Quite a remarkable feat actually. He said the feeling of being so inspired by what others had done as he left the theatre stayed with him, and as the ideas began to flow, with his wife’s encouragement, he took over the lounge to build his creation. It appears he is already thinking about next year…

And so are we. I had already penned in taking my daughter back next year – there is something quite wonderful about walking out of the theatre with all those costumes, and thoughts, and wonderful creativity running around in your head that just makes you just want to go back again.

I Ris(e) Sue Cederman, Motueka. 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show.

Hermacea Jan Kerr Paraparaumu. 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show.

Onstage Open Section, 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show.

By Anya Brighouse
19 September 2011
Photos by 2011 Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show