Nicki van Asch has never been to the World of Wearable Art Awards Show before, but that hasn’t hindered her creative inspiration, with her first ever entry being selected as a finalist for the awards.
Nicki entered this year’s Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art Award Show in the Bizarre Bra section and was selected as a finalist along with 10 other Nelsonians. She says it was a goal of hers to enter the awards after visiting the WOW Museum several times.
“I always sit down at the start of the year and have a bit of a think about what projects I’m going to undertake for that particular year and this year I decided that one of those projects was going to be wearable art during winter.
“I went along to a function for designers here in Nelson and that sort of nailed it because it was quite inspiring to be surrounded by all these designers and so many other super creative people. I got caught up in the excitement and there was no turning back at that point.”
She designed her entry on napkins in cafes around Nelson and sought advice from her handyman father on how to bring some of her ideas to life.
Her lounge was turned into her workspace and visitors were greeted with her entry at various stages. “Our house is not that big so when visitors came around they would walk in the door and have two prominent breasts thrust in their face,” she laughs.
The Brancott Estate WOW Awards Show is now in its 24th year and is New Zealand’s largest arts show, with more than 50,000 show goers from around the world attending every year. In a breathtaking two-hour spectacular of art, theatre, dance, and music, incredible designs are brought to life. This year’s show season in Wellington runs from September 27 to October 7.
Nicki says she had a “jaw dropping moment” when she received an email to say she was a finalist and will definitely be back next year.
“It feels quite special to be fortunate enough to be involved because it is such a great Nelson story. I love Nelson and I love being a Nelsonian so that connection makes it particularly special for me.
“I enjoyed the process. It’s been a great project over those winter months when it’s easy to hunker down and not achieve much. I’m already started thinking about some ideas for next year.”
