Duo makes WOW finals

GARMENT: Sporadica, by Renee Louie, secured a spot as a finalist in WOW 2017's Avant Garde section. Photo: Stephen A'Court

it must be true that friends who create together stay together, if best friends Kayla Christensen and Renee Louie are anything to go by.

Together, the Kapiti-raised duo spent hours at their Island Bay flat working tirelessly on garments for this year's World of Wearable Arts (WOW), where they secured finals spots at September's event.

Despite being just 26 years old, the creative pair has around 20 years' WOW experience between them, having first joined the event as a duo entry in 2009 and 2010.

Now, although entering separately, the Bachelor of Design graduates bounced ideas off one another, having each majored in fashion during their studies.

Kayla, whose creation Kuini represented New Zealand's "most prized taonga, our birds," secured an impressive overall third place in the Aotearoa section of WOW 2017.

"My creation, which is the Maori name for queen, is a tribute to the extinct and endangered birds of Aotearoa," said Kayla, who spent two months working on her project.

"They are so precious that I want to raise awareness of what we have and what we may lose if we don't take action to help preserve and protect our most prized treasure."

The garment, made entirely from canvas and acrylic paint, was completely hand drawn and painted.

"I used every available waking moment in between working full time and sleeping to finish it, however the idea came a lot earlier."

Unlike Kayla, who has had six of seven entries reach the finals, this year resulted in Renee being selected for the WOW finals for her eighth year.

Although she did not secure an overall placement, the full-time fashion retail stylist was thrilled to have secured a finals spot in the prestigious event's Avant Garde section, for her garment Sporadica.

TAONGA: Kuini, by Kayla Christensen, received third place in the Aotearoa section of WOW 2017. Photo: World of Wearable Arts 2017

The two-piece garment, which also took two months to create, was made using PVC sprinkler pipe, rope, fabric and nylon string.

"I started working with my materials first, sampling with different kinds of PVC pipe and techniques, before I'd even designed my garment," Renee said.

"For the top I connected the PVC pipe first and then covered the pipe in a metallic fabric with Macramé knotting, before threading the knots with a nylon string.

"The skirt mirrors similar shapes but is made with a rope base, which again was covered in fabric and threaded with a nylon string."

She said while her materials and techniques predominantly inspired the design, she was also fuelled by the symmetry and shapes of different kinds of fungi.

"I ended up creating a character that I named Sporadica, the goddess of all fungi."

Making a WOW garment can be very challenging at times, she said, especially when working to a deadline.

"There are a lot of late nights involved and it always takes you longer to complete a certain stage of the garment than you think.

"But it all becomes worthwhile when you receive that email confirming your garment has been accepted."

The best part, according to the women, was seeing their garments step onto the stage and hearing the crowd's reaction.

"After nearly 10 years of entering, it's become a part of my life," Renee said.

"It's so easy to stop being creative and I feel like making WOW garments keeps my creative passion alive."