Welcome to Sydney Wearable Art Gala 2025.

This year, our theme is:

SUPERNATURE

Inspired by "Supernature" a book by Lyall Watson. Published in 1973, Watson theorised that there is more to the world than what can be measured and observed by traditional scientific methods. One of Watson’s key themes is the interconnectedness of all living things. Watson explored the idea that the universe is a web of interconnected relationships, where everything is linked to everything else.

In 2025 our 6 Categories are:

  1. TOUCH THE EARTH LIGHTLY– recycle, reuse, up-scale & repurpose

  2. UNDER THE MICROSCOPE – An abstract world of the bold & the colourful

  3. FANTASTIC FLORA – Headworks

  4. PRECIOUS METALS - The beauty of the metallic

  5. NATURES REVENGE - Fantasy Cosplay

  6. THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT! - Historical corsetry and underpinning with a twist.

Category 1

TOUCH THE EARTH LIGHTLY

Upcycle, reuse, up-scale & repurpose

Wearable art with a focus on saving the planet through sustainability.

Gather textiles and materials, that may be preloved, perused, offcuts, and/or, by-products of industrial production, from Reverse Garbage, op shops, or similar suppliers to create Wearable Art.

Category 2

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

An abstract world of the bold & the colourful

Create bold abstract shapes and patterns informed by the bizarre world of the microscopic. Capture the unseen beauty that surrounds us exploring the unseen, intricate and vibrant details that often go unnoticed in our world.

Category 3

FANTASTIC FLORA

Millinery & Headpieces

This category requires wearable art to be supported by the head. Influenced by the anatomy of plants and flowers ie; pods, seeds, stamen, petals, fiddleheads, spores, gills, scales, fruits, tubers, filaments, ovaries, buds, stigma etc.

Design using unconventional materials to create abstract shapes and forms that represent the natural world.

Note: Headpieces created for this category need to be made to last, so avoid traditionally organic flower arrangements (no live or cut flowers may be included in the headpiece).

Category 4

PRECIOUS METALS

The beauty of the metallic

This category explores the magic of Alchemy, of extracting metal from the earth and refining it to reveal its true nature - Iron, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Titanium, Copper, Brass, Lead, Zinc, Nickel, Tin may be explored.

Note to designers creating for this category: Artists are encouraged to simulate the metallic through colour and texture, rather than using actual metal which can cause injury to the body of the wearer, and other contestants on stage - see terms and conditions of entry.

Category 5

NATURE’S REVENGE

Fantasy Cosplay

In a violent fantasy world, nature beckons hybrid, and genetically modified insects to take back control of planet earth.

Important note: All entries for this category must be original cosplay creations, and cannot be copyrighted characters from existing media.

Category 6

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT!

Historical corsetry and underpinning with a twist.

Inspiration -  A ‘Sleep over’ in Edwardian London attracts escapees from the French Court, and characters from Peter Pan’s Neverland nightmare. Nosferatu taps at the window, let him in why don’t you? Think swash buckling pirate gals, and simpering femme fatales destined to lose more than just their pretty heads.