Dave and Sarah Millwater's costume for Wanaka Wearable Creations was inspired by their 11-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son who are both affected by cystic fibrosis.
The disease affects many organs in the body, predominantly the lungs and pancreas, by blocking them with a thick mucus causing breathing difficulties, chest infections and the inability to absorb nutrients.
Mrs Millwater said they decided to symbolise lungs in their costume because of the way the condition affected their lives.
"We want to acknowledge [the lungs'] beauty and their vital functionality. We also want to acknowledge the long, hard road that a lot of people go down who have lung conditions.''
As well as depicting lungs, the Millwaters, who are cabinet makers, are incorporating a tree into their costume.
"The tree is important to us because we get our main source of atmospheric oxygen from it, so it fits in really well with lungs,'' Mrs Millwater said.
They also planned to include a depiction of the fungi aspergillus, which has particularly affected her daughter.
"Under a microscope it's beautiful. It's like a big flower and it's blue.''
Their costume would include medical equipment and oxygen tubing.
This was the first time they were entering the event and they hoped to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis as well as some money for groups involved with the condition.
"We're hoping [the costume] might be something we're able to auction off after, as some kind of magnificent wall hanging.''
- Eilish Maddock
