As we proudly declared in our last blog, our latex design Tsukumogami won the big daddy Supreme WOW Award last week (as well as the Myths & Legends Section). Ben and I couldn’t be happier.
But seeing as we competed against 85 finalist entries created by 100 designers from 17 countries, across 25 awards, we thought it was also important that we listed our fellow winners as much as extend our deepest heartfelt admiration to all who have ever contributed to a WOW event. Be one a designer, a judge, producer, model, make up people, dressers and designers, and of course the tireless crew who make the show happen (and keep WOW alive for repeated performances) of all the years we have been involved, it has been a singular honor to be amongst you all.
The list of award winners this year is (excluding our top win) is:
2025 WORLD OF WEARABLEART™ AWARD WINNERS
Supreme WOW Award Runner-up
Meine Erste Liebe, Fifi Colston, Wellington, New Zealand
SECTION WINNERS
Open Section
Winner: Meine Erste Liebe, Fifi Colston, Wellington, New Zealand
Runner-up: The Music Within, De Lamby Wulff, Australia
Avant-garde Section
Winner: Void, Hung Cho Hei Joe, Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong, China
Runner-up: Inside Out, Stephanie Johnson, Ireland
Aotearoa Section
Winner: Worn Landscape, Cushla O’Connell, Christchurch, New Zealand
Runner-up: Whare Mīere, Felicity Collier, Timaru, New Zealand
Air Section
Winner: Wau Bulan, Faris Fairusham, Victoria University of Wellington, Malaysia
Runner-up: Lionfly, Giancarlo Bello, Switzerland
Neon Section
Winner: Drift, Katherine Bertram, New Zealand
Runner-up: Straw-ry Eyed, Bethany Cordwell, Australia
Myths & Legends Section
Winner: Tsukumogami, Dawn Mostow & Ben Gould, United States
Runner-up: Don’t Be Afraid, Thao Nguyen, Vietnam
SPECIAL AWARDS
Ko te Tohu Toi Rākei / Toi Rākei Award
Ko Au Ko Harakeke, Ko Harakeke Ko Au, Anna Hayes-Moeau, Rotorua, New Zealand
Accor Live Limitless First-time Entrant Award
Invisible Tale, Yu Wang, Beijing Institute of Fashion, Hong Kong, China
Student Distinction Award
Under _’s Gaze, Everything Magnifies, Yuchen Jiang, Central Saint Martins, United Kingdom
Sustainability Award
Salome, R.R. Pascoe, Australia
New Zealand Design Merit Award
First Light, Lindal Linton, Brett Linton & Harvey Linton, Wellington, New Zealand
Absolutely Positively Wellington International Design Merit Award
Loinnir na Mara, Mary McGuinness, Ireland
Transformation Innovation Award
Astray, Paula Fernandez Mederos, United States
Wētā Workshop Outstanding Design Award
Worn Landscape, Cushla O’Connell, Lincoln, New Zealand
Great Journeys New Zealand Designer Development Award
Grandy C, Canada
Dame Suzie Moncrieff Award
Beeing Mary Bumby, Jan Kerr, Ōtaki, New Zealand
You can read more WOW news (and see some fantastic pictures) at the below links:
https://www.worldofwearableart.com/content-hub/2025-winners
