Wowing Audiences Around the World

Date: 24 September 2008

With a record number of international entries, judges and media the Montana World of Wearable™ Art (WOW®) Awards Show is set to enter its twentieth year in global style.

This year an unprecedented third of all garments hail from international designers, from countries as far afield as the UK, US, India, Japan, Thailand, Germany, Israel and Canada.

The event will also display a special showcase dress created for Paris Fashion Week by Indian designer Manish Arora.

As a sponsor of WOW since 2001, Tourism New Zealand has helped build the profile of this premier art event internationally by hosting international media and working closely with designers and design students in the markets in which it operates.

Tourism New Zealand will host 11 international publications for WOW this year, as well as the BBC and German television network ZDF. These publications and programmes will reach an audience of over 200 million, with ZDF alone likely to be watched by over 100 million people in Europe.

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton says, "WOW is an ideal opportunity for us to show our international audiences that New Zealand is more than just its landscapes; we are a vibrant nation with a sophisticated art scene and an entrepreneurial spirit. There is no other event quite like this and the media love that."

Tourism New Zealand’s relationship with one of India’s best-loved fashion designers, Manish Arora, has resulted in the loan of a prestigious showcase garment for the Montana WOW® Awards Show in 2008.

Decorated with over 1,000 hand-embroidered butterflies, which were hand sewn onto the dress by 10 craftspeople, the ‘Butterfly Dress’ was created for last year’s Paris Fashion week.

As the garment is very intricate and best enjoyed close up it will not appear in the show but will be on display in the foyer of the TSB Bank Arena for the Montana WOW® Awards Show Season, which begins on 25 September. It will then be on display in the WOW museum in Nelson for six months.

For further information contact:
Sue Allen, Corporate Communications, Tourism New Zealand
Mob 029 917 5466

Source: Tourism New Zealand Media Release