What is Wearable Art?

A vest made of neckties, a dress made of wire, paint chips, collector jackets, repurposed wedding dresses…an outfit made of paper mache, another of leaves and moss. And you won’t believe the clothing created from one roll of caution tape! Gowns made from sail cloth scraps, VHS tape, beads, mussel shells…..and so much more!

These outfits have been featured at the Port Townsend Wearable Art Show, which started in 2011 as a fundraiser for Jefferson County Community Foundation’s Fund for Women and Girls. Now a yearly show held on Mother’s Day weekend in May, The Port Townsend Wearable Art Show has become the hit of spring, with all previous shows completely sold out! Tickets for the 2017 will go on sale in December, 2016.

The works for this juried show range from functional to fantastic, and include creations fashioned from just about anything you can think of, from silk to leather, woven radio wire, vinyl records, copper, paint chips, vintage photo slides, and found objects like seashells, recycled water bottles and beach glass. You name it….and with our creative artists…..they will make it!A wearable art show melds art and fashion, using the human form as a kinetic part of an artistic piece. Our local show is modeled on wildly popular wearable art shows in cities like Baton Rouge, Ketchikan, Halifax, and Wellington, New Zealand.

“You have to see this to believe it—and when you do, you won’t be disappointed!” says event chair Debbi Steele. “Each year we think it can’t get any better, and it does!“

It takes a village to put on our Port Townsend Wearable Art Show! We want to acknowledge and thank all of the volunteers who make the show a super fantastic production, we look forward to seeing you there.