Wearable Arts has become a household name in New Zealand, and the show that began in a leaky tent in Nelson 17 years ago has gone from strength to strength.
Now it has had its biggest ever offshore showing for a select audience in Asia.
"We're bringing wearable arts to Singapore to showcase the arts and culture of New Zealand," says Suzie Moncreiff, the creator of Wearable Arts.
Twenty models and more than a hundred costumes have all become part of Tourism New Zealand's aim to encourage more people from Asia to visit New Zealand.
New Zealand taxpayers have spent a $120,000 on the event, with journalists having been flown in from across Asia to cover it.
Also on the guest list are many of Singapore's movers and shakers, exactly the kind of people that Tourism New Zealand is looking to market to.
Seventy seven of Asia's media came to see the weird and the wonderful.
Together they reach out to a potential audience of half a billion people.
And they're impressed.
"These people are so busy and so important that you have to have something really major to bring them along to an event this," says Tourism New Zealand Chairman Wally Stone.
Food and wine are other essential components of a month-long New Zealand festival, with the audience always looking for a business opportunity.
And promoting tourism is the number one goal.
