A huge congratulations to the three Hawke’s Bay designers who have made it into the finals of Wow.
Kelsey Roderick, from Clive, Keryn Whitney, from Hastings, and Rhys Richards, from Napier, are thrilled their garments will be on stage in Wellington for the 2023 World of Wearable Art Show from September 20 to October 8.
That’s quite an achievement considering designers from across the world enter this theatrical extravaganza competition. This year’s theme is Beyond and there are six themes: Aotearoa, Avant-Garde, Open, Crazy Curiosities of the Creature Carnival, Natural World and Geometric Abstraction.
Awards night is September 22. There are restrictions around what the finalists can tell us about their garments including names and categories.
If you are interested in designing The Edible Fashion Awards has a free workshop at Creative Arts Napier on Saturday, August 19 which would be a fantastic starting point for anybody remotely interested in a path to Wow.
My two daughters. Their unwavering support for my design interests has been incredible.
2. How many times have you entered Wow?
I’ve participated in the Wow competition multiple times, creating a total of seven garments. These range from collaborative projects to individual endeavours, two of which have received award recognition.
3. What is it about the competition that you love?
The captivating aspect of Wow is its inclusivity—anyone can take part. All it takes is the commitment to infuse your heart and ideas into your creation.
I find immense joy in the learning journey that design brings, including the discovery of new techniques and the thrill of uniting diverse elements into a harmonious design.
4. What techniques have you used?
My creative process involves a blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern tools. I relish working with my hands, employing various techniques to mould materials.
Additionally, I harness the potential of 3D computer-aided design (CAD.
The fusion of traditional artistry and contemporary technology enriches the depth and innovation of my designs.
The exhilarating journey of crafting something entirely novel and expressing myself through my design work brings immense satisfaction.
8. Tell us something surprising about yourself.
A unique facet of the design process is that I don’t need to outsource any part of it. The process of materialising a concept into tangible art and also working collaboratively on some of these projects is profoundly fulfilling.
Kelsey Roderick and Rhys Richards.
Kelsey Roderick
1. Who was the first person you told when you discovered you were a finalist?
In the past, it’s been a diverse range of materials, including metal, utensils, silicone and fabrics. This time, there is a new blend of various materials including rubber and metallics.
5. What techniques have you used?
3D printing, handicraft, spray-painting, modelling.
6. Have you learned new techniques for your current entry?
Yes. I’ve been experimenting with different materials to determine what works best with paint and metallics.
I relish the creative freedom and artistic expression this incredible show and competition offers.
Keryn Whitney
Keryn Whitney.
1. Who was the first person you told when you found out you were a finalist?
I emailed my selection letter to my husband and waited for him to be able to ring me back. My family put up with the highs and lows of the process, the mess, the lack of attention and the frustrations, so it’s always who I turn to first to share the news.
I have had 10 garments selected and a few that didn’t make it over the finish line. I’m not actually sure how many entries they add up to.
3. What is it about the competition that you love?
Each garment I have constructed has always been different from anything I have produced before so I use the experience as a learning tool to develop my skills and my working knowledge on different techniques. There really isn’t anything quite like Wow, so I appreciate the opportunity to participate and if selected you know your work is going to be seen in person by over 50,000 people.
4. What materials have you used?
This time around my garment has been constructed from metal and glass
Metal manipulation, pattern making and jewellery manufacturing.
6. Have you learned new techniques for your entry?
Every Wow garment I learn something new. This time around I extended my knowledge of jewellery construction and also pattern making. I adapted skills I have learned from working with one material and applied it to a completely different material to give an unusual surface finish.
7. What was the inspiration for it?
I was working on the design of this garment during our very wet summer. Then when Cyclone Gabrielle hit, I kept working on the garment but the experiences that resulted from Gabrielle formed an impact on this design. The garment itself is not about Gabrielle but rather my processing of what Hawke’s Bay had been through, distilled down. It was such a conflicting time, on one hand, we have such extreme destruction and loss of life but on the other hand, we had the beauty of people doing whatever they could to help those in need.
A previous entry by Keryn Whitney, Hinewhaitiri.
8. What would your top three tips be for someone making an entry for Wow for the first time?
* Use your strengths, everyone has something they are great at, be it putting different patterns together or use of colour. Maybe they can knit or they weld really well. Maybe they have access to material that’s totally different and unusual. Maybe they are accountants and they have an eye for detail – all these little skills can translate across to art.
* Start smaller, competitions like The Edible Fashion Awards in Hawke’s Bay are incredible for giving it a go. You get to see how much work is involved in completing a garment but you also get to see, up close, other designers’ work.
* Don’t wait for a sign to start, just start. Nobody is going to give you an invitation to get going, so simply do it yourself. You will never know what you are ever truly capable of unless you push yourself to your limits.
9. What do you most enjoy about being a designer?
That’s a really tough question to answer. A lot of the work I do has hundreds of hours that go into making components. It’s not until you get quite close to the end of the process that you actually see if it will come together or if you have wasted a lot of time for nothing. It’s quite an emotional journey, it pushes you to the mental and physical limits as towards the end hours get really long and a lack of sleep always kicks in. Normally there are some amazing high points when everything works, to some very low points when nothing works and you question your sanity for even starting it.
I failed School Certificate Art and I never thought I would ever do anything art related ever again. It took well over 10 years for me to even consider anything art related again.
