The Wow Factor

Held in Wellington,New Zealand,WOW is an annual event that is known to attract creations that range from the innovative to the downright eccentric. Manish Arora had also shown at the festival in 2008 with a Swarovski crystal-bejewelled “Butterfly Dress” which featured over 1,000 hand-embroidered sewn butterflies.

This year,WOW was held at Wellington’s TSB Bank Arena on September 27 where a lavish fashion show saw the shortlisted creations get paraded on the ramp. Saha’s berth-winning entry was inspired by the Garden of Eden. The dress captured the greenery of the mythical landscape — from fruits and plants to flowers and birds. Their idea was to create a dress that represented both good and evil. “On one hand,we captured nature’s beauty through the garden but at the same time,there is a serpent trying to tempt Eve,” says the designer.

This hasn’t been the duo’s first attempt at seeking glory at WOW. Last year,too,they had sent an entry — albeit as part of the Bizarre Bra category (the duo made one with LED lights). “WOW only allows garments that can be worn at least 20 times. Our creation was entirely made out of paper,so we failed the durability test,” says Saha . So while the Garden of Eden dress — shortlisted in the South Asian Pacific category — was crafted out of a stretchable fabric (read: lycra mesh),the leaves,birds,and the serpent were hand-stitched on to the garment. “The leaves were made of paper but the insects and birds were made of acrylic. The fruit replicas were made using thermocol,” says Saha.