Napier finalist in World of Wearable Art thrilled show will go on

Successful World of Wearable Arts (WOW) finalist Anna Grapes with daughter Evie. Photo Danelle Kendrick Photography

The World of Wearable Art (WOW) has had its fair share of ups and downs since Covid-19 put a dampener on the international show last year. But a couple of weeks ago the word was out — the show must go on.

Napier finalist Anna Grapes has ridden the highs and lows of the WOW rollercoaster and is now thrilled she will be able to see her garment on stage.

Her creation is entered into the architecture section of this year's show.

Last year's WOW was cancelled and entrants were initially told their entries would be part of an exhibition instead of being on stage at a later date. But that decision was reversed and tickets are now on sale for the Wellington event, to be from Wednesday, September 29 to Sunday, October 16.

Entries are kept secret until the night.

Anna's creation took about five months to put together and she says making the material was the most time-consuming part.

"It took over 200 hours to create while both my husband and I were working full-time."

She was inspired by an eclectic mixture of architectural forms found within mandalas, fractals, ferns and birds.

"I created my own fabric from scratch using 70 metres of plastic mesh and over a kilometre and a half of nylon mesh tubing."

Anna says she felt elated and relieved to be selected.

"I put my heart and soul into it. It's been a dream of mine to enter a full garment into WOW since I was a teenager."

With the uncertainty around the show going ahead or not, Anna said she would have been devastated if her garment hadn't been able to have its moment on stage.

"For me, this is more important than winning a prize. It's the fulfilment of a lifelong dream."

Anna hasn't exactly been resting on her laurels since finishing her garment. She's produced perhaps her best work yet - her first baby, daughter Evelyn. Although Anna and her husband will be off to see the show, she says Evelyn is still too young.

"Hopefully, in the future, I'll be successful with another entry and she will be able to come see Mama's work on stage. I'm busy being a new mum at the moment but have lots of ideas brewing for my next entry, which I'm planning in the background and will start working on once Evelyn is a little older."