Zoe Fox's design will compete against eight other finalists in the children's section of the awards tomorrow night.
Her selection almost did not happen - Ms Fox missed the application cut off date by two days and had to plead with organisers to allow her to compete.
Ms Fox (41), who left for Wellington yesterday, said she had been ''costuming and making things'' since she was 10, when her parents owned a fashion shop called the Fox Hole in the 1970s and 1980s.
''I've always made things since then.''
Ms Fox studied textiles and jewellery design at the Dunedin School of Art in the 1990s before studying costume design in Melbourne in 1999.
She then worked in the film industry in Melbourne and Wellington, in sewing and wardrobe, and theatre in Wellington, designing costumes.
She returned to Dunedin and had two children, now aged 2 and 5.
After splitting with her partner, she one day found herself ''twiddling my thumbs''.
''I made a coffee, I went back to bed with a sketch book and started drawing up some designs,'' she explained.
The cut-off date for applying for the WOW awards, however, was two days previously.
''I emailed and said `pretty please' and they were really good about that.''
Ms Fox began working on one outfit that was not coming together.
''I really wanted to get something made - I just had the urge to make something.''
She ''completely changed tack'' and, in just three weeks, completed the outfit that will be shown in Wellington. She learned about a month ago she was a finalist.
''I was pretty excited.''
The theme for the children's section was ''imaginary friends'', for which she had created ''a very simple design, which I'm hoping is part of its charm''.
Made from nylon, cotton, lycra, polyester and wool, the design features a yellow, shiny raincoat, red hat, stripy tights and black boots, worn by a child pulling an ''old school trolley with a silhouette of a boat on it''. An inflatable whale pops out of the boat, powered by a motor and fan.
''It's called Me and Moby - looking at old sea stories, fantasies of seeing a whale while you're out on a little boat.''
