Brisbane-based artist Isabelle Cameron emerged victorious at this year’s Australian Wearable Art Festival, taking home the highest honour, Supreme Winner, at the gala night held on the Sunshine Coast.
The festival, a convergence of art and fashion, concluded its highly anticipated event at Venue 114 earlier this month, showcasing a spectacular display of 38 national and international boundary-pushing wearable artworks.
Ms Cameron, whose outstanding crochet piece was entered into the Floriana category, ultimately took home three prizes for her piece Dear Babushka: Supreme Winner, the Floriana category winner and one of four artists chosen to be featured in the Textile Fibre Forum magazine.
“Dear Babushka is a love letter to my Ukrainian heritage and the happy childhood moments I spent with my Babushka in her garden. I wanted the look to draw anyone back to childhood nostalgia,” Ms Cameron said.
“The large lily flowers you see on the headdress coupled with the purple and yellow colouring are in tribute to my model, who is a proud intersex woman.
“It was really important for me to share her pride and story because a lot of the time the ‘I’ in LGBTQIA is overlooked. Stephanie also shares Ukrainian heritage as well, so the traditional ‘vinok’ was also significant to her.
“Backstage was a really supportive vibe with each artist helping each other and getting everyone on stage was a collective effort, not the competitive environment you might expect.”
Judges Bethany Cordwell and Fifi Colston said that of the 38 entries in the festival, Ms Cameron’s work stood out for weaving subtle narrative into sculpture forms that transcended genre.
“We were absolutely blown away with the creation and construction of Isabelle’s incredibly colourful floral garment,” Ms Colston said.
“The absolute joy it brings to the wearer and the audience is evident, as well as being a heartfelt creation made with so much love.”
With participants hailing from diverse corners of the world, including Poland, Germany, the United States and various parts of Australia, the event demonstrated its reputation as a growing international art and fashion spectacle.
“The festival’s four main categories – Trashion, Sustainable Nature, Floriana and Avant Garde – showcased the incredible diversity and creativity of the wearable art genre,” Ms Colston said.
“This event is only going to grow in standard and audience as word gets out about how fabulous and unique this show is.”
The Australian Wearable Art Festival will return in 2024 with dates set for August 9-11.
Winners list
Supreme Winner – Isabelle Cameron with Dear Babushka
Trashion – Winner: Tatiana Sheverda with Awakening; runner-up: Elzbieta Cios-Jonas with Citric Chic
Sustainable Nature – Winner: Karen Lynch with Recurvata; runner-up: Eloise Galea with Flor-Rhaya
Floriana – Winner: Isabelle Cameron with Dear Babushka; runner-up: Viera Keogh with Slovakian Epopee of Reesville
Avant-Garde – Winner: Evita Camilleri and Dan Draper with Slave; joint runner-up: Paul Hagger with Shadow King – Lord of the Forsaken; joint runner-up: Galina Mihaleva with Into the Wilderness
Best Headpiece – Winner: Viera Keogh with Slovakian Epopee of Reesville
Haute Couture – Winner: Andrea Pollock with CAPtivate
Emerging Wearable Artist – Winner: Rae Saheli and Rhiannon Thomas with Perfectly Tarnished
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