Clodagh’s Junk Kouture design has serious message

The stunning creation that earned 17-year-old Clodagh Ramsey from Wilson’s Hospital School, Multyfarnham, the Junk Kouture World Designer of the Year is not just a beautiful costume, but a loud statement about global food shortage.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Clodagh, who out-ranked strong opposition from Milan, Paris, New York, London and Abu Dhabi, to take the world title, and her proud teacher, Justyna Byrne, explained the message behind the creation.

“Even in Ireland where we rank the second most food secure country in the world – it is reported that one in five children go to school or bed hungry. It is a real issue, and in many parts of the world hunger is a reality,” Clodagh said.

The costume that won her the world title is made up of some 2,000 Irish blue mussel shells and weighs 32kg, 30kg of which is fully compostable, as all the shells can and will be ground down to a powder to be used as fertiliser.

The shells were used in the bodice, cuffs and skirt of the dress and on the back and front of the headpiece. Her first task was to collect the shells. She lives in Killucan, far from any beach, but she “went to an Italian restaurant with a bucket” weekly, collected the shells and then washed, dried and glazed each of them individually. The glaze preserves the shells and makes them shine when the light hits them on stage, creating a stunning spectacle.

The headpiece is made from a model ship she found in a charity shop. She spray-painted the ship black and added feathers from an old handbag that she had used in a previous piece. She added old Christmas and Halloween decorations and used hair extensions flowing from the sleeves to depict how the bearded mussels attach themselves to rocks.

“It was a long process, having to do research, collect the materials, make the costume and submit it,” but Clodagh thoroughly enjoyed it.

Mussels can be a part of the solution to world hunger because farming them requires no feed and no antibiotics and they have a minimum carbon dioxide output, Clodagh said. They filter the water they live in, provide people with a source of protein, and they are tasty too, she said.

“The message behind my project is that the earth needs a break. We need to learn to farm our planet more responsibly; we need to learn from the mistakes of the past and realise they don’t have to be the mistakes of the future. Hunger is real and is happening right now and we are the only ones that can fix it. We need to take action!”

Junk Kouture is not just about designing and making a beautiful dress, it is as much about the message and Clodagh sold her message well, Justyna said. It is a difficult competition because the standard is high, she remarked. When Clodagh was announced as one of the winners, Justyna felt “this is fantastic”, and yes, she did hope that her star pupil would go all the way.

“I believed in her creativity and her potential, but I am still pinching myself,” Justyna chuckled.

More than 1,200 entries were submitted; 60 were selected to go through to the Dublin City finals, and 10 were picked to represent Ireland in the World finals. Clodagh admitted that she was shocked to pass each stage and to make it to the World finals, and doubly shocked when she won the Irish and then the World Designer title. Following her crowning as World Designer, Clodagh was asked to speak at an International Summit on Sustainability and Education in Monaco.

This was Clodagh’s second time to enter the competition. When she was in second year, she created a piece entitled ‘Bohemian Pampastry’. It was made from pampas moss and grasses and won the 2022 Innovation award. The creation had to be kept alive and watered every day and was finally planted back into the earth. “I feel we take so much from nature, we need to give back,” she said.

All the shells in Clodagh’s latest masterpiece are to be crushed and turned into fertiliser. The broken ones have already been ground down and given to the local seed library in Killucan, and some have been given to Clodagh’s primary school, Rathwire, where the pupils ground them down for use in their garden. “They loved it,” Clodagh smiled.

For now, the ensemble remains intact, looking lovely, but Clodagh wants it to have a purpose. Since she has been crowned World Designer, she and her costume have been attending events and they will be attending the World finals next year, “so it won’t be ground down until then”.

“At least I don’t have to keep it alive, like the last one!”

Wilson’s Hospital School

Junk Kouture was introduced at Wilson’s Hospital School by the art teacher Justyna Byrne in 2013. It started as a weekend activity for boarders and the students loved it. “It is now part of the transition year programme and many of the students have won prizes, but this is the first world title.”

Clodagh joined the class in 2022. “She said she would give it a try and the next day she brought in pampas grass and next thing I see a skirt made out of it. She’s unstoppable,” Justyna said.

She said Clodagh has a natural flair for art. “I love, as an art teacher, putting art out there and it is so nice to see students being innovative in expressing themselves.”

Of Clodagh’s creation, Justyna remarked: “She didn’t just create a beautiful dress, she created something from nothing and showed the power of sustainability.

“It was a pleasure to work with Clodagh because she is so organised and so willing. I see so many talented students and I want to give them the platforms to shine, to create,” she said.

Clodagh never saw herself as a designer. She wanted to be a dentist, but now she is reconsidering. Through the Junk Kouture competition, she secured a work experience place with Claire Garvey, “an incredible designer from Temple Bar who makes lovely pieces from sustainable material”.

She met Claire through the regional shows and said that such are the opportunities that come from just taking part. Another benefit was the many friends she made from other countries.

Junk Kouture was founded in Ireland by Troy Armour and has now spread across the globe. Both Clodagh and Justyna said it is a unique competition and they praised the Junk Kouture team, who “could not have been more supportive”.

Justyna encourages young people to get involved. “It is a really fantastic opportunity. You meet so many, learn new skills, get new ideas,” she said.

Clodagh spoke of the support she received from her family – her parents Amanda and Richard, and her sister Eve, from the school’s acting principal John Galligan, acting deputy principal Siobhan Devaney, and all the staff and pupils. They formed a guard of honour to welcome Clodagh home and presented her with a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion.