Four local designs qualify for Dublin Junk Kouture final
Four designs from Moate Community School, Our Lady's Bower, Athlone and Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan have been chosen to compete in the Dublin City Final of Junk Kouture following the Regional Finals in the Helix, Dublin recently.
The Junk Kouture Regional Finals 2024, in partnership with EUROSPAR Supermarkets, took place in the Helix on Monday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 5 where 160 designs battled it out for 60 spots in the Dublin City Final next May.
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Go with the Float from Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone modelled by Cindy Zhang.Image 2 of 3
Moate Community School’s design Grief, created by Soumia Bouroubi and Ruby Kenny.Image 3 of 3
Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan’s design ‘An Tarbh Dubh’, The Black Bull made by Rachel Murphy, Amy Seery and Danielle O’Neill.Two designs from Moate Community School qualified for the Dublin City Final. Alpacalypse created by Emma Kinahan, Lucy Champ and Emma Keane represents the importance of having community around us and shopping sustainably, using sustainably sourced alpaca wool. Grief designed by Soumia Bouroubi and Ruby Kenny expresses the aftermath of carnage on our roads. This is represented by the ripped seatbelts and soft white netting, which showcase the dark times after innocent lives are lost.
Go with the Float produced by Cindy Zhang, Gemma Mannion and Lucy Sheffield from Our Lady’s Bower was also selected for the upcoming Dublin City Final. The team volunteered to help children with disabilities during swimming activities and they have repurposed inflatables that were no longer of use.
Finally, An Tarbh Dubh made by Rachel Murphy, Amy Seery and Danielle O'Neill from Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan illustrates that the agriculture industry must reduce its greenhouse gases for the benefit of future generations.
Junk Kouture Director of Global Events and Production Megan Kelly said: “What a fantastic two nights in the Helix. The atmosphere was incredible. Congratulations to everyone who took part, there was so much creativity and imagination on display. To our 60 Dublin City Finalists, we will see you in May. Thank you to our partners EUROSPAR and all the brilliant educators who help make this all happen.”
Junk Kouture judges, couture designer Claire Garvey, Miss Universe Ireland 2023 Aishah Akorede and former Junk Kouture winner Maxim O’Sullivan had their work cut out for them as they picked 30 designs from each of the two regional finals to make up 60 Dublin City Finalists. Designs were selected from the regions of North, South, South-East, East and West.
Junk Kouture is a fashion competition for secondary school students, where participants design, create and model fashion, made from recycled items. The competition has been running since it was first set up by Troy Armour in 2010. The annual Grand Finale has been held in the 3Arena, Dublin since 2015.
A Moate team, #TagMe, was recently crowned World Junk Kouture champions.