A wearable artform made from cut clear tubing and 56,000 cable ties has taken out top gong at a Coast festival with international standing.
Coast locals Evita Camilleri and Dan Draper were crowned Supreme Winners at the Australian Wearable Art Festival 2025.
Known as art collaboration Derby Cross, the creative duo emerged victorious at this year’s Australian Wearable Art Festival, taking home the festival’s highest honour for their work titled Fractilians II (Salt) at the gala awards night held at Venue 114 in Bokarina.
The festival, a collision of art and fashion on the catwalk, concluded its highly anticipated fifth event on August 9, with 11 awards being handed out.
Derby Cross was taken by surprise by its $5000 win, even though the pair was also the Supreme Winner in 2022.
“This work is made entirely from cut clear tubing and 56,000 cable ties, with every single element hand-shaped and placed,” Ms Camilleri and Mr Draper said.
“It has been a labour of love and experimentation for almost a year and it’s amazing to see it recognised amongst so many other incredible international and national works.
“The piece is part of our Fractilians series, fictional subterranean spirits whose forms are shaped by the harsh conditions they live in.
“They’re hunters and their armour is crafted from salt crystals arranged in intricate fractal patterns as both camouflage and protection.
“The horns, spikes and textured surfaces speak to their strength, but there’s also a strange elegance in their form. Under UV the whole work glows, revealing another layer to the story.
“Wearable art is such a unique artform and lets us create an entire mythology you can walk inside of.
“Seeing the Fractilians come to life on the runway was like watching them step out of our imaginations into the real world.”
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The three judges for the event – Rachel Burke, Natasha Smith and Svenja – all agreed Derby Cross’ piece stood out as a masterclass in innovation.
“There was nothing else like it on the runway,’’ Ms Burke said.
“The way it moved was hypnotic and the craftsmanship was flawless.
“What impressed us most was the dedication to one material, pushed and transformed through so many different techniques.
“It’s an incredible demonstration of skill – turning something rigid into something fluid, kinetic and sculptural.
“Within the one medium there were open weaves, dense cones and intricate textures – all brought together with a monochrome finish that caught and reflected the light beautifully.
“You could see influences drawn from across fashion history, from medieval armour to avant-garde couture, yet it felt wholly original and deeply moving.”
This year’s festival saw the introduction of two new competition categories – Elements of Nature and Abstract Form – joining Trashion and Avant Garde, as well as additional awards celebrating textile artistry, innovation and sustainability.
The diversity of works was striking with entries fashioned from materials as varied as dog hair to robotics, proving once again that wearable art has no creative limits.
This year’s festival was also a milestone moment for organisers, who announced a major move to the larger Novotel Twin Waters Resort for its 2026 edition.
Festival co-director Wendy Roe said the decision reflected the extraordinary growth of the event, which has seen a 25 per cent increase in both audience numbers and artist entries year-on-year.
“This year we welcomed more than 1500 attendees over four shows with artists travelling from across Australia, the USA, Romania, New Zealand and Bali to take part,” Ms Roe said.
“Our time at Venue 114 has been instrumental in helping the festival grow into what it is today.
“But with sell-out shows and an ever-expanding program, it’s time to create a bigger stage.
“Novotel Twin Waters gives us the flexibility to host larger audiences, offer expanded programming and welcome even more artists from around the world.”
The 2026 festival will be held on July 11.
Australian Wearable Art Festival 2025 winners
- Supreme Winner sponsored by Sunshine Coast Council: Evita Camilleri and Dan Draper as Derby Cross from Sunshine Coast – ‘Fractilians II (Salt)’
- Avant Garde sponsored by Sunshine Coast Airport: Kym Cunningham from Queensland – ‘The Lotus Queen and Oil Merchant’
- Trashion sponsored by Coastline Mini Garage: Oana Rosca from Romania – ‘Sunflare Sentinal’
- Elements of Nature sponsored by Argon Law: Rosamund Torr from Victoria – ‘After the Fire’
- Abstract Form sponsored by Tourism Events Queensland: Rae Saheli from Queensland – ‘Metal Bloom’
- Emerging Wearable Artist sponsored by Fresh PR & Marketing: Sophy Blake from Sunshine Coast – ‘Fly Like the Wind’
- Innovation Award sponsored by My Weekly Preview: Vivien Eardley from Queensland – ‘Metamorphose’
- Youth Award sponsored by Converge: Kayla Trisakti from New South Wales – ‘Tesselate’
- Textile Fibre Award sponsored by Textile Fibre Forum: Stephanie Vale from Queensland – ‘Gather Community’
- Sustainable Award sponsored by In Noosa/Hello Sunshine: Antoaneta Tica from Romania – ‘Duality’
- People’s Choice sponsored by Mix FM: Robyn Valentine from New Zealand – ‘Life Sentence’
