FAQs

No. There is no entry fee to enter the WOW Competition.

Entrants must be 18 years or over.

The country an entry is from is determined by the place where a designer mostly resides. If an internationally-born designer is living in New Zealand, with New Zealand citizenship or New Zealand permanent residency, they are considered a New Zealand entrant and are not eligible for International Awards. 

Internationally-born designers living in New Zealand on temporary visas, are considered International entrants. A design group made up of both New Zealand and International designers are not eligible for the International Awards or the Fisher Funds New Zealand Design Award.

Yes. You may submit multiple entries in the competition.

An entry can consist of up to three garments, and there is no limit to the number of entries that you can submit.

No. You must include at least four full length photographs of your actual completed garment as part of your entry submission.

To be eligible for the Student Distinction Award, the designer must be currently enrolled in a tertiary level course or have graduated within 12 months as at the step 1 deadline. 

The designer must provide their student ID number as part of the entry process requirements.

No. Both designers must be students (or graduated within 12 months as at the step 1 deadline) to be eligible for the Student Distinction Award.

This also applies to the First-Time Entrant Award, both designers must be first-time entrants to be eligible for the award.

Have you registered? Designers must register to receive their unique designer number before they can complete the online entry process.

If you have forgotten the email address that you used to register or are still having issues logging in, please contact our Competition Coordinator, Angela Fisk: angela@worldofwearableart.com

If you are struggling to upload photographs or a video to your online entry form, they may be the wrong size or format.

Please see below for the requirements:

Photograph Format Requirements

File Format: JPG, tiff, PNG, BMP only 

NB. The online entry form cannot accept PDFs, .rar, .zip or other formats

File Size: 1.5MB maximum

Video Format Requirements

File Format: MP4 or MOV only | File Size: 25MB maximum

Video Duration: 15 seconds maximum

17 September to 4 October 2026

If your entry is chosen as a finalist (at Final Selection, the selection panel verifies if your entry is selected to appear on stage in the WOW Show), you are entitled to ONE FREE Premium Seat in the ‘Designer Seating Section’ on Awards Night. You can also purchase up to three adjacent seats for your family or friends.

If your entry is not successful at Final Selection, you will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets (for you and a family member or friend) in the ‘Designer Seating Section’ on Awards Night.