Local Junk Kouture entry makes world final!
A dress inspired by the famed designer Missoni and made from plastic colour testers from Delta Q, a plastics manufacturer in Athlone, has made it to the Junk Kouture World Final later this year in Wembley, London.
The Moate Community School entry #TagMe was named as one of ten winners at the Junk Kouture Dublin City Final Powered by RTÉ in 3Arena, Dublin on Thursday. It was made by Eva Donlon from Tubber, Mount Temple's Méabh O'Shea and Evie Nugent from Ballymore.
The group was praised for their stunning design which saw over 2,500 tags, handsewn together into a colourful dress and headpiece. The plastic samples usually end up in landfill because the different colours make them difficult to recycle.
While all fashion eyes were on the Met Gala in New York this week, the Moate designers were among over 80 eco-fashion creators were in Dublin with their haute couture designs made from 100% recycled materials in a bid to wow judges Louis Wash, Keilidh Cashell, Tara Kumar and Stephen McLaughlin.
Beauty supremo Keilidh Cashell said the judges were “blown away” by the talent so it was a very tough task to choose just 10 designs from 80 incredible creations!
“Everything from train tickets to burst footballs were transformed into something new – I couldn’t believe my eyes at times! I am glad it wasn’t just down to me otherwise there’d be more than ten designs heading to the World Final! London, get ready - there are some really quirky and cool designs headed your way!”
Music mogul Louis Walsh, who has been judging the competition for many years now, said it was important “we picked designs who really rocked the stage of 3Arena as the World Final is the biggest event in the Junk Kouture calendar – you’ve got to bring it to a new level! Best of luck to our top ten in London”.
The winning designs will battle it out against 50 other teams from Abu Dhabi, London, Paris, Milan and New York in London to become the World Designer of the Year on October 12 next.
While the judges deliberated, RTÉ 2FM Rising artist Ryan Mack performed three tracks for the large attendance. For anyone not there on the night, you can catch all the action of the Junk Kouture Dublin City Final Powered by RTÉ on May 18 at 7pm on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player.
The 10 Junk Kouture World Finalists were not the only thing revealed in 3Arena on Thursday night. An Post unveiled a booklet of four Junk Kouture stamps at the Dublin City Final, featuring past designers and the iconic high-fashion looks they created from upcycled junk. These striking stamps, which allow postage within Ireland are available for €5.40 at anpost.com/junkkouture and in selected post offices nationwide, with a limited student online offer of five free postcards.
CEO of Junk Kouture Troy Armour said: “We are so honoured to be featured in this booklet of stamps with An Post. You can now own a little piece of haut couture fashion for the price of a stamp!
"The designs on the stamps are all by students who have gone on to make their mark in different industries, from the fashion world to environmental work – a journey that starts with Junk Kouture. I used to collect stamps as a child, never did I envision having our very own Junk Kouture booklet of stamps.”