Friday night marked the kick off of the World of Wearable Arts (WOW), an annual celebration of people doing incredible things with materials, shapes and concepts draped around a human body. The evening was also the official Awards Gala, where they announced the top picks of categories like ‘Geometric Abstraction’ and ‘Crazy Curiosities of the Creature Carnival.’

This year, awards went to the likes of a sculptural creation that appears to be made out of paper (Soundscape by India’s Ashish Dhaka) and an impressive interpretation of a worm (GiGi the Wyrm of Spinelesque by Sean Purucker and Tony Rivas of the United States). The Supreme Award of the night was awarded to US designer Grace DuVal, who – inspired by the contrast of Aotearoa’s natural landscape and the neon gear road workers wear – made a beautiful silhouette out of road cones and signage. (Find a full list of winners here). 

While there was clearly no shortage of top ‘clothing’ on the stage, nor was there a lack of great outfits off it. Scroll down to see what attendees wore to one of Wellington’s most fun and fabulous fashion nights of the year.