First international World of Wearable Arts show sells out

Photo / supplied

The first international show of the renowned World of Wearable Arts sold out over the weekend.

As part of Hong Kong Arts Festival's 40th anniversary this year, WOW has shipped out for the first time to perform at the overseas festival.

The New Zealand show, founded in 1987, annually showcases weird and wacky themed artistic costumes in Wellington.

WOW founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff said the series of 70-minute shows in Hong Kong started out with a bang, as performers faced two packed shows on Sunday.

"We opened on Sunday with a private show for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and then presented to a sold out public matinee audience.

"Both shows were well received. We had great feedback from the audience with people saying they had never seen anything like it."

She said many of the audience said they were keen for another round of the show, which featured 100 garments from the historic WOW collection.

"Many we spoke with said they would definitely come again next time, which bodes well for our goal of taking WOW performances to other international festivals."

A total of eight performances and an audience of at least 16,000 are expected to attend over WOW's Hong Kong run until February 5.

The international show is comprised of a mixture of local Hong Kong performers and New Zealanders flown over for the occasion, she said.

"The New Zealand performers and Hong Kong performers (made up of 35 local children and 38 local adult dancers) had rehearsed separately and came together for a full rehearsal less than two weeks ago.

"The WOW team arrived here and hit the ground running, pulling together the show in its entirety in a very short timeframe. They've done a wonderful job, and New Zealand should be very proud of how the country has been represented on the international stage."