Andi Crown/Andi Crown Photography
Stephen A’Court
Top: WOW Supreme Award-winning design Curves Ahead, by Grace DuVal, USA. Above: Runner-up design He art, by Xuancheng Liu and Jingyi Lin, China.
Boston, Mass.-based Grace DuVal, a familiar name on previous World of Wearable Art (WOW) winners’ lists, fulfilled her dream in Wellington on Friday night as she took out the Supreme Award in the 2024 competition.
DuVal’s creation, Curves Ahead, was inspired by the strength and resilience of New Zealanders during the rebuild after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, with a headpiece made from road cones and in a startling orange signalling the common sight of high-vis vests.
She first conceptualized the design when travelling around Aotearoa New Zealand after winning the runner-up award in 2017, inspired by the juxtaposition of the country’s beauty and the presence of the road crews. She had worked on this entry since then.
Speaking to Lucire after her win, DuVal said she felt particularly blessed, as there was no way of predicting what the judges would be looking for each year. ‘Any one could have won,’ she said. Winning the Supreme Award was something she had wanted for a long time.
The design is made from vinyl reflective construction signs, with a headpiece made from plastic cones and fibreglass poles, and held together with custom 3D-printed components. The skirt comprises plastic mesh and barrier fencing.
DuVal had completed her entry at the same time as the passing of her father, a fact she movingly relayed to the audience at TSB Arena upon receiving her award.
After that, she had to pack up the entry in Boston to make sure it arrived in Nelson for March 2024, after which judging commenced.
She holds a master’s degree in fashion, body and garment from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The judging panel comprised WOW founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff, designer James Dobson of Jimmy D., Wētā Workshop make-up and creature effects’ art director Gino Acevedo, and Wētā Workshop CEO and chief creative officer Sir Richard Taylor.
The judges said, ‘Curves Ahead is visually electrifying, vividly beautiful and a cohesive, compelling concept. It commands your attention, and up close you observe the phenomenal technical skill involved in bringing it to being.’
DuVal received her prize from New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon.
The show itself saw a brand-new prism stage, a complete departure from previous years. Screens at the back and the floors were used ingeniously for visual displays.
Dubbed Dream Awake, this year’s concept saw the Dreamer (played by Sharn Te Pou) travel into a dreamscape, meeting the Dream Maker (Nikita 雅涵 Tu-Bryant), with live performances from them both, as well as accompanying musicians, including a choral version of ‘Poi e’.
Outstanding aerial performances, including the principals on suspended stages, were a hallmark, and wheelchair-using performers featured in the aerial activity.
Gabrielle Stevenson created some 200 costumes to complement the entries, to heighten the performative aspects of the show.
Categories this year were rejigged slightly: while Aotearoa, Open and Avant-garde remained, Crazy Curiosities of the Creature Carnival, Natural World and Geometric Abstraction formed the final three.
The 2024 World of Wearable Art show runs till October 13 at TSB Arena, Wellington, New Zealand. Some tickets are still available at www.worldofwearableart.com.
World of Wearable Art 2024 winners
Aotearoa
Kārearea, Kayla Christensen, New Zealand
Open
He art, Xuancheng Liu and Jingyi Lin, China
Avant-garde
Curves Ahead, Grace DuVal, USA
Crazy Curiosities of the Creature Carnival
GiGi the Wyrm of Spinelesque, Sean Purucker and Tony Rivas, United States
Natural World
Soundscape, Ashish Dhaka, India
Geometric Abstraction
Walkin’ Wardrobe, Laurel Judd, New Zealand
Accor Live Limitless First-time Entrant Award
Hold, Dai Jia Chang, Shih Chien University, Taiwan
Student Innovation Award
A Multi-faceted Perspective, Ryunosuke Arai, Bunka Fashion College, Japan
Transformation Innovation Award
Changing Perceptions, Rebecca Bond, New Zealand
Sustainability Award
Sgàthach the Singed, Fifi Colston, New Zealand
Fisher Funds New Zealand Design Award
The Red Thread, Ian Bernhard, New Zealand
Wētā Workshop Emerging Designer Award
Termite Cathedral, Katherine Bertram, New Zealand
WOW Designer Development Award
Galina Mihaleva, USA
Dame Suzie Moncrieff Award
Murderer, Edith Mok, Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong
Absolutely Positively Wellington International Design awards
UK and Europe
Ethereal Shift, Ece Özalp, Turkey
Asia
Soundscape, Ashish Dhaka, India
Americas (and overall International Design winner)
GiGi the Wyrm of Spinelesque, Sean Purucker and Tony Rivas, USA
Australia and Pacific
Triptych Fashionistas, Jill Perry, Australia
Supreme Award runner-up
He art, Xuancheng Liu and Jingyi Lin, China
Supreme Award winner
Curves Ahead, Grace DuVal, USA
Andi Crown/Andi Crown Photography; Stephen A’Court
Above, from top: Hybrid, Sanskriti Maheshwari, Indian Institute of Art & Design, India. Sgàthach the Singed, Fifi Colston, New Zealand. The Avant-garde section. Nikita 雅涵 Tu-Bryant as the Dream Maker. Margy’s Dress, Jeanette Stok, Australia. Papatūānuku, Donna Allfrey and Lex Allfrey, New Zealand. A Multi-faceted Perspective, Ryunosuke Arai, Bunka Fashion College, Japan. Avian Goddess, Vishnu Priya Pal, Pearl Academy of Fashion, India. Changing Perceptions, Rebecca Bond, New Zealand. Acrobats perform in the Open section. The Crazy Curiosities of Creature Carnival. The Rise of Ruru Digital Kaitiaki, Carena West, New Zealand. Te Ao Mārama, Lauren Kidd and Frances Kidd, New Zealand. Termite Cathedral, Katherine Bertram, New Zealand. Walkin’ Wardrobe, Laurel Judd, New Zealand.
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