Designer behind 17,000-paper-clip bra named WoW finalist

A Waikato designer who once made a bra from more than 17,000 paper clips has been named a finalist in the 2026 World of Wearable Art Awards.

Jenny Jack of Tamahere, 49, is one of 108 finalists.

She is one of two Hamilton finalists this year, alongside Nichola Te Kiri, chief executive of an indigenous storytelling, contemporary design, and cultural expression brand called Nichola.

Jack was first inspired to enter the World of Wearable Art (WoW) event in 2014, after attending previous shows with her creative sisters-in-law.

Since then, it has become a tradition to attend the annual event together, even if they weren’t entering.

This isn’t Jack’s first time as a WoW finalist. She’s been entering the competition on and off for about 12 years, returning this year after a three-year hiatus.

The creative sisters-in-law with their previous WoW entries: Sacha Mail (left) with A Bird's Eye View, Lisa Vanin with The Cloak of Pīwakawaka, modelled by Olivia Vanin, and Jenny Jack with Revenge of the Paper Clip.

Speaking to the Waikato Herald before the awards, she said her creative activity took a back seat while raising her three sons, who are now grown.

With more time and space, she said she was able to return to what she loves.

“I could put the time into it and I could get back into [my] creative side,” she said.

Creative childhood

Designing has been part of Jack’s life since she was a little girl.

Her mum was a textiles teacher who sewed a lot and always had fabric on hand.

“I grew up sewing and creating as long as I can remember.”

Jack remembers the first item she designed from that fabric was a dress for her doll, which she remade differently each time she got a new one.

“When I got a doll, I would make clothes for them, and I absolutely loved it.”

She pursued that love, going on to study fashion and design before scoring her first job in the industry as a clothing pattern maker at 19.

After getting married and having children, Jack looked for work that fitted around her family, and her creative activities took a backseat.

She worked at a sewing shop for a while, where she got the opportunity to teach others how to sew, and from there, she began helping more adults get creative by holding sewing classes at a local high school.

Jenny Jack of Tamahere is a finalist in the 2026 World of Wearable Art Show. Photo / Malisha Kumar

New business

Jack learnt that people came to sewing for all sorts of reasons – even men.

“Often I have young mums who just want to do something for themselves, or people who are retired and looking for something to do,” she said.

“I had this one man come to me who was making a bag for his bike.

“Another man sold fabric, and he sewed T-shirts out of his fabric and sold them.”

While Jack loves designing, she said her real passion was “seeing creativity in other people”.

The classes were a stepping stone to opening her home-based business, Sew Fab, this year, where she continues teaching people how to sew and pattern-make.

“I really enjoy it,” she said.

“Everyone does creativity differently, and that’s the part I love. It’s like we all have it, but in a different way.”

Bizarre bra

It was her love for creativity that took Jack back to WoW this year.

She said she was proud to be a finalist, and a lot of hard work goes into designing a wearable art piece.

“When you’re a finalist, it means your garment gets into the show. So ... just having it on stage, because it’s quite hard to get into, is great.

“It will be really neat to get back in there again.”

The bra Jack made from more than 17,000 paper clips was a 2016 WoW entry in the special section of the Bizarre Bra category.

Waikato designer Jenny Jack's Revenge of the Paper Clip entry in the Bizarre Bra category in 2016.

Each year, the awards have special sections encouraging designers to take on creative challenges they usually wouldn’t, and the two themes for 2026 are Metallic and Kinetic.

While Jack’s 2026 finalist garment is top secret, she said it was her “most enjoyable” piece yet.

“Some of the [previous] entries have been so consuming, and when kids were young, it was like ‘the kids are in bed, and now we can spend some hours on this’, because you just wouldn’t have time throughout the day,” she said.

“This one wasn’t my most time-heavy one ... but it was one I could fit around life well.

“I was actually finished before time, which is unheard of,” she said, laughing.

The 2026 World of Wearable Art Show takes place at the TSB Arena in Wellington from September 17 to October 4.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.