Create and Celebrate at Australian Wearable Art Festival
From dried-flower-adorned ballerinas and a 3D-printed coral reef sculpture to a plastic-bottle dress, a crochet sea monster and more, Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer reflects on the visual feast that was this year’s Australian Wearable Art Festival.
I’ve been to a fair few fashion shows during my time as a magazine editor, but I’ve never been to anything quite like the Australian Wearable Art Festival. Combining the glamour of a catwalk show with the fantastical imagination and creative skills of the artists, it’s part fashion show, part theatre – resulting in a magical event celebrating 39 impressive wearable art pieces from Australia and around the world, with entries from as far away as the USA, Japan and Romania.
Queensland-based fibre artist Isabelle Cameron was crowned the Supreme Winner for the second year running for the technical skill and bold vision behind her piece Stardust – the story of a crochet sea monster emerging from the seaweed, representing the artist unmasking and expressing autistic joy, embodying both terror and beauty – and also being awarded Avant Garde Winner. Made from layers upon layers of turquoise crochet adorned with shiny pink gems, it was perfectly brought to life by model Shani Finch, who stalked down the catwalk like a creature from another realm.
I absolutely loved the Trashion category – a deep exploration of discarded materials that pushes artists to their creative limits and aims to heighten awareness of the waste we generate in our everyday lives. IN Noosa and Hello Sunshine Magazines are proud sponsors of this one, and we were delighted to present the award to Sprinkle by Romanian artist Antoaneta Tica – a mesmerising, sculptural blue artwork inspired by the texture of falling raindrops and splashes of water, created from recycled water bottles ingeniously transformed through cutting, heating and sewing, which shimmered as the model elegantly flowed down the catwalk.
The Sunshine Coast was well-represented by the People’s Choice and Floriana category-winner, local floral artist Viera Keogh, with her piece Homage to Humanity – two ballerina tutus and an enormous warrior headpiece created from an abundance flowers and foliage she’d grown and dried at her own home over the past year. Inspired by the peaceful Velvet Revolution in the late 80s, it was a heartfelt protest against the increasing restrictions in her homeland of Slovakia, and had a powerful beauty that captured the attention – and admiration – of the entire room.
Another personal favourite was the breathtaking Reef Rising entry by architects Suzy Syme and Andrew Costa, which was awarded Runner Up for the Avant-Garde category, celebrating the collaboration between art, science and technology. An ode to Australia’s coral reefs and the danger they face from degradation and bleaching, this 3D-printed wearable sculpture and headpiece was created using complex visual programming to form over 10,000 unique coral cells, and had an ethereal, melancholy vibe as the model swayed down the catwalk to the rhythm of the waves.
There was a real buzz in the room during the interval, where the audience had the chance to get up close to the models and artwork to appreciate the sheer skill and ingenuity involved in each work. Pieces that looked relatively simple from far away suddenly revealed the complexity behind their creation, while the more intricate artworks were a marvel to gaze upon, drawing your eye to new elements as the models twirled and swayed beneath spotlights.
Now in its fourth year, the festival, started by local legends Wendy Roe and Helen Perry, has grown to be Australia’s premier wearable art event thanks to support and funding from Sunshine Coast Council, who are committed to supporting creative arts in the region. I’m already excited for what this fantastic festival has in store for next year, and I’ll be dragging everyone I know along with me! The Australian Wearable Art Festival is transforming the Sunshine Coast into a world-class wearable art destination to watch – how exciting that we get to come along for the cool, creative and captivating ride. Get on board!
