After making a significant impact on Aotearoa, Jacinda Ardern departs from her position as Prime Minister. One noteworthy event was her appearance at the World of WearableArt Awards, a prominent creative community event in New Zealand, which gained global attention last year. The awards are currently accepting entries for this year's event.
Ardern modeled a unique piece named "Digitally Grown," which was commissioned by veteran Dylan Mulder at the World of WearableArt Awards. The online response was mixed, with some negative and highly critical comments aimed at her. Many questioned her participation and deemed her "out of touch." However, the best perspective to assess the impact of her presence that night is from the designer himself.
Surreal
When asked how he felt seeing the Prime Minister wearing his creation, Dylan Mulder responded to The Big Idea saying, "It was surreal! It didn't hit me until two days later, and I yelped in excitement upon realization. Our final fitting with Jacinda was on Awards night, and as she walked towards me with the illuminated garment and a big smile, fitting perfectly, that was the most impactful moment for me. I was touched that it suited her so well. I designed it using AI to fit her body, so until that point, it was all theoretical. Seeing it fit well was excellent validation."
The reaction
Despite being aware of the polarizing response to Ardern's choice to wear his creation, Mulder had a positive experience and felt honored to design for a well-known figure. He acknowledges that the media was kind to him, likely because he did not have any political agenda. He and the World of WearableArt creative team were careful not to imply any political bias, and the design was not about color. Instead, it focused on celebrating the strength of women in society, exploring new ways to approach MÄori design, and elevating its perception through the use of the latest technologies.
According to Mulder, his 2019 WOW garment "Natural Progression" had a similar theme to the one Ardern wore. He believes that the World of WearableArt chose him for his style, which matched the category's theme that had a modern, digital approach. Mulder expressed disappointment at the minority of people who made derogatory comments towards Jacinda in the article's comments section about the WOW garment. He understands that people have different priorities, but he was saddened to see personal and attacking comments aimed at her. He believes that it is not right to attack someone in this context, and it is apparent that some people enjoy being mean.
