‘Reflection’ – The Favourite Brancott Estate WOW Garment

‘Reflection’ – The Nation’s Favourite Brancott Estate WOW Garment

More than 3000 people from around the country have voted Erna and Karl van der Wat’s design Reflection as their favourite 2011 Brancott Estate World of WearableArt Awards Show garment.

Reflection was also WOW founder Suzie Moncrieff’s favourite this year, having won the prestigious 2011 WOW Factor Award for being “the most innovative garment with the WOW factor,” according to Moncrieff.

“Reflection is a beautifully constructed, sculptural work of art,” Moncrieff says. “It has a stunning presence on stage, which is an important element of a garment’s WOW factor.

“I have seen Erna and Karl’s work mature every year that they enter,” she says. “They like to push the boundaries and always surprise us, especially this year with Reflection, which is an outstanding piece.”

Aucklanders Erna and Karl van der Wat are thrilled to have won both the WOW Factor Award and the Dominion Post People’s Choice award.

“We are stunned and extremely honoured,” the van der Wat’s say. “We are not designers by trade, so we really can’t believe it – it is not something that we expected.

“Even though we have no background in design, we do love to make and create, and we will definitely enter again next year,” they say. “Once you are bitten by WOW you never get over it.

“Thank you to everyone who voted for us, and thank you to the wonderful World of Wearable Art team, who have helped make this happen for us.”

This is not the Van der Wat’s first time at the Brancott Estate World of WearableArt Awards Show. Since 2006 they have entered seven garments to WOW.

Reflection is made out of aluminium tubing, and stainless and mild steel. It is described as reflecting how conscious reflection produces an exquisitely connected blueprint of how we choose to live our lives.

“The arm pieces and head piece was done as one dimensional flat design,” the van der Wat’s say. “We had to really think a few steps ahead to accommodate for the contours and three dimensional shape of the final product. In the end we created a garment that looked as though the aluminium tubing curved without strain or effort around the model, creating an optical illusion.”

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