“Where art, fashion and theatre collide, the only boundaries are the limits of the human imagination.”
There are few occasions that will find fashion designers using materials like teapots, telephones and typewriters to create underwear. Those few occasions are likely to be in preparation for the annual World of WearableArt (WOW) Awards Show, a celebration as much of fashion as of art. The best contestants of one of the most popular categories – the Bizarre Bra category – has now been brought to us in book form, allowing readers throughout New Zealand to pore over this collection of weird, whacky and wonderfully creative “over the shoulder boulder holders.”
It is no wonder that the Bizarre Bras category has been a WOW favourite for both designers and spectators for years. This celebration of this single item of clothing has provided a platform for designers to experiment with some not-so-delicate delicates. Instead of frills and lace, these artists unleash their wildest imaginings. The book showcases bras that look like budgies, kiwi fruit and candelabras, and those that are made with anything from forks to hedgehogs (the genuine once-were-living variety). If you can conceive of a thing, these stylists have turned it into underwear!
This is the candy-store for fashion designers is the creation of Dame Suzie Moncrieff, who encourages them to see the body as a blank canvas, and then let loose, away from societal fashion constraints. Nearly 400 Bizarre Bra entries have found their way on the WOW Awards Show stage since the category was introduced in 1995; the pages of this gift book are the highlights of this kooky, vibrant and compelling expression. To make a good book even better, 20% of the proceeds from the sale of each book is being donated to the Breast Cancer Research Trust to support their work in finding a cure. Thank you WOW!
REVIEWER: Dione Joseph
TITLE: Bizarre Bras
AUTHOR(S): The World of WearableArt
PUBLISHER: Potton & Burton
RRP: $24.99