The supreme winner at the WoolOn creative fashion awards, a black merino evening dress woven with silver Lurex, "took wool to a new level", the judges said at the awards presentation, in Alexandra, on Saturday night.
The full-length gown by Napier designer Laurel Judd won the special occasion category as well as the supreme prize because of its "wow" factor, judge Amanda Waugh, of Dunedin, said.
"It took wool to another level and just blew us away. You wouldn't think the dress was made of wool. It was such an unexpected use of wool," Ms Waugh said.
The outfit was one of 75 entered in this year's awards.
Tickets were sold out a fortnight ago and more than 500 people attended.
Artists from Wellington-based Fuse Circus theatre company entertained the crowd with trapeze and acrobatic acts during the show.
WoolOn began in 2005 and was started as part of the New Zealand Merino Shearing Championships to showcase the use of wool in fashion.
It grew to become a separate event and now forms part of the Alexandra Blossom Festival programme.
Mrs Judd said she worked on her winning garment over two months.
The background was knitted black merino wool and then she wove 5cm strips of silver lurex all over the dress, finishing it with diamante trim.
"I like evening dresses. They have a class about them, a certain elegance."
Her passion for creating and making garments has evolved into a small business, designing women's fashion.
She is a regular entrant in the WoolOn awards, having won the 2006 supreme award.
The WoolOn judges - Ms Waugh, Tamsin Cooper, of Arrowtown, and Angela Stone, of Christchurch, said they were impressed at the standard of entries this year.
