The creative fashion flow of Midlands students was recognised at the famed Junk Kouture competition which was virtually hosted for the second consecutive occasion last week.
Viewers at home tuned in to RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player on Thursday as 40 incredible designs created and modelled by talented young designers made their bid for Junk Kouture glory.
As always, the golden rule was that all outfits were made of 100 percent recycled materials and it was safe to say that this year’s students definitely pushed the boundaries, with bike helmets, yoga mats, silage wrap and even old tights getting a new lease of life as haute-couture creations.
Success was achieved from a local perspective as students from Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone and Moate Community School were lauded for their Junk Kouture creations.
With her creation ‘Jeaneology’ Moate CS student, Lucy Mitchell, claimed the ‘West Region’ award - her fashion design comprised old denim jeans, curtain cord, beads, old pearl earrings, metal zips and buttons. Inspired by endless colours, shades and textures from famous artists the designer admired, including Van Gogh, Vermeer and Frida Kahlo are featured.
Her fellow Moate CS students, Joyce Conway, Cora Farrell and Áine Maxwell, achieved the ‘Glamour Award’ - their creation ‘Netiquette’ being made from clear plastic sheeting, wool, used plastic netting recycled from a garden centre and plastic bags.
Meanwhile, there was due recognition for Our Lady’s Bower students, Londiwe Ndlovu and Ligia Afedoaei, who were chosen as ‘Best Performance’ award winners with their design, ‘It’s All About the Package’ which comprised packaging materials from daily usage to high fashion recyclable packaging - bubble wrap, plastic sheets, polystyrene, PLT packaging, DKNY sponge, Boohoo packaging and pearls.
Our Lady’s Bower received a second Junk Kouture accolade when ‘V.I. Pea’ was announced as the ‘Finishing Touches’ award winner. Created by Shauna Jameson and Sarah Skelly, the design was made from wasted pea pods and red onion bags.
