"Sewing is my hobby. I like design and I have made costumes before for my daughter's dance. I've never been to WOW before and I'm very excited," she said.
Ms O'Rorke is an old hand, having entered four times now and been a finalist three times, although the thrill is still as great, she said.
After months of working on the garment then sending it off for judging, the creator doesn't see it again until it's on stage being worn by a model, and with all the added drama of the music, lighting and audience reactions.
"You sit there, an absolute bag of nerves, then to see it on stage with all the lighting and choreography, it's just amazing," Ms O'Rorke said.
She decided immediately to enter Red when the 2017 categories were revealed at the end of last year's festival.
"I just love the colour red, and I love working with textured fabrics or creating texture myself.
"I've always sewn. I learnt it from my grandmother and then my mother, using an old treadle machine."
Ms O'Rorke's entry involved a lot of hand sewing, and she worked on it every weekend from December to the end of March, with many night hours spent on it too.
Her 2013 and 2015 finalist garments are currently on display at Paihia Explore New Zealand's cruise centre on the waterfront.
Now in its 29th year, WOW's combination of an international design competition and spectacular stage production is New Zealand's single largest annual theatrical event seen by nearly 60,000 people every year.
This year there are the usual three sections - Aotearoa New Zealand, Open and Avant-Garde; and three 2017 special sections - Red, Illumination Illusion: Float, Fly, Flow, and Weta Workshop Costume & Film: Science Fiction.
Of the 103 finalist garments, 48 are by New Zealand designers and the rest from many other countries.