A husband-and-wife design team from the United States have taken out the top prize in the 2025 World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards, announced at the TSB Arena in Wellington on Friday night.
Dawn Mostow and Ben Gould’s intricate latex creation, Tsukumogami, drew on Japanese classical, centuries-old blue ceramics crowned with
blue and white ikebana flowers. Traditionally, these ceramics are said to be imbued with a live spirit.
Describing it as a blend of the past and the future, WOW judges stated the creation was “radically innovative and future forward, while at the same time paying exquisite homage to centuries-old artistic and cultural traditions.
“A work that captivates the eye and refuses to let it go.”
The strong Japanese influence reflected in the couple’s designs stems from Mostow’s years of living in Japan, fascination with the Japanese belief that objects can be imbued with spirit and kintsugi, the practice of repairing broken ceramics with golden seams to enhance their value.
Although the couple have been regular finalists since 2017, this year’s victory marks the first time they have taken out the Supreme WOW Award.
Runner-up to the award was Wellingtonian Fifi Colston’s 30th WOW creation, Meine Erste Liebe.
Meine Erste Liebe by Fifi Colston of Wellington. Photo / Stephen A’Court.
Inspired by a 19th-century tale about the ill-fated love between a German botanical artist and his wife, judges described the garment as “a work that takes your breath away. A living archive of hundreds of years of artistic technique and a divinely composed ode to love, loss and art.”
Last Saturday, Colston announced this would be her final WOW competition and she will retire after competing in the fashion design show since 1990.
In an interview with RNZ, Colston said: “I’m going to draw and sketch every day and move away from digital, and then I’ll just see what comes out of that … something will come up for me.“
Worn Landscape by Cushla O’Connell of Lincoln. Photo / Stephen A’Court.
Winner of the Wētā Workshop Award for Outstanding Design, Cantabrian Cushla O’Connell’s garment, Worn Landscape, featured a landscape image created from more than 6000 upcycled buttons.
Wētā Workshop founder and chief executive Sir Richard Taylor, who judged the award, said O’Connell’s creation was “imbued with the spirit of a Hayao Miyazaki-inspired world”.
The inaugural Te Tohu Toi Rākei – a new WOW Competition award recognising and celebrating excellence in Māori art, craft and design when translated into a work of wearable art – was awarded to Anna Hayes-Moeau (Ngati Kahungunu ki te Wairoa) for her work, Ko au ko Harakeke, Ko Harakeke ko au.
Ko au ko Harakeke, Ko Harakeke ko au by Anna Hayes-Moeau. Photo / Stephen A’Court
Category judges Karl Chitham (Te Uriroroi and Ngā Puhi) and Isaac Te Awa (Ngāpuhi, Kāti Māmoe, Kai Tahu, Waitaha) said the entry stood out for “elevating traditional materials and techniques with exquisite attention to detail”.
“The incorporation of whakapapa and pūrākau transforms the work from something familiar to something extraordinary.”
WOW head of competition Sarah Nathan said there was again an extraordinary level of creativity and technical skills evident in the finalist garments.
“It’s exciting to see the wearable art form continue to thrive, grow and push boundaries across craft, storytelling and materials.”
Across 25 awards, 85 finalists created by 100 designers from 17 countries competed for a prize pool of more than $200,000.
2025 World of Wearableart winners
Supreme WOW Award – Tsukumogami, Dawn Mostow & Ben Gould, United StatesSupreme WOW Award Runner-up – Meine Erste Liebe, Fifi Colston, Wellington, New ZealandOpen Section – Meine Erste Liebe, Fifi Colston, Wellington, New ZealandAvant-garde Section – Void, Hung Cho Hei Joe, Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong, ChinaAotearoa Section – Worn Landscape, Cushla O’Connell, Christchurch, New ZealandAir Section – Wau Bulan, Faris Fairusham, Victoria University of Wellington, MalaysiaNeon Section – Drift, Katherine Bertram, New ZealandMyths & Legends Section – Tsukumogami, Dawn Mostow & Ben Gould, United StatesKo te Tohu Toi Rākei / Toi Rākei Award – Ko Au Ko Harakeke, Ko Harakeke Ko Au, Anna Hayes-Moeau, Rotorua, New ZealandAccor Live Limitless First-time Entrant Award – Invisible Tale, Yu Wang, Beijing Institute of Fashion, Hong Kong, ChinaStudent Distinction Award – Under _’s Gaze, Everything Magnifies, Yuchen Jiang, Central Saint Martins, United KingdomSustainability Award – Salome, R.R. Pascoe, AustraliaNew Zealand Design Merit Award – First Light, Lindal Linton, Brett Linton & Harvey Linton, Wellington, New ZealandWētā Workshop Outstanding Design Award – Worn Landscape, Cushla O’Connell, Lincoln, New ZealandGreat Journeys New Zealand Designer Development Award – Grandy C, CanadaDame Suzie Moncrieff Award – Beeing Mary Bumby, Jan Kerr, Ōtaki, New Zealand