Stunning Longford design chosen to compete at Dublin City Final of Junk Kouture

A stunning Longford design has been chosen to compete at the Dublin City Final of Junk Kouture. 

Local creative teenagers transformed the scales from pine cones and broken hanging baskets into sustainable fashion nabbing them a spot at the coveted All-Ireland Recycled Fashion Final in May.

'Life of Pi…ne' is by Adriana Rivera, Caoimhe Connell and Josefin Schulz from Cnoc Mhuire Secondary School, Granard.

The designers of 'Life of Pi…ne' explained, "We used the scales from pine cones for our design and broken hanging baskets. We had to punch a hole in each scale and sew them on individually, which took a long time.

"Each year a mature tree produces enough oxygen for 10 people. Pine trees are especially important. Pine cones stay on trees for 10 years before falling to the ground. New seeds grow under the scales and these scales protect them from the cold. When it is warm and dry the scales release the seeds into the ground, where they grow into new trees. Our environment is our responsibility and with the power of care and nurture we can all make the world a better place in which to live."

Of course, Cnoc Mhuire and Art teacher, Ms Charmaine Hetherton, are no strangers to Junk Kouture success as earlier this year, Solomon Eduard and Joshua Osabuehien, were crowned World Designer of the Year at the first ever Junk Kouture World Final in Abu Dhabi.

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Longford’s finalists will face stiff competition from over 70 other entries from across the country in this year’s Dublin City Final in a bid to secure a space at the inaugural World Final of Junk Kouture where Irish finalists will compete with their fellow creative peers from Paris, Milan, NYC, London and Abu Dhabi.

1,200 haute-couture designs made from 100% recycled materials by post-primary students entered the 13th year of the creative programme in Ireland. From this, 300 designs were shortlisted and aired on Junk Kouture’s YouTube and TikTok channel for the 2023 Regional Finals.

During the showcase, eighty was the magic number, as eighty creations crafted by young designers aged 13 -18 years from across the North, South, East, South-East and West of Ireland were chosen to represent their region at the Dublin City Final taking place this May.

Junk Kouture is Powered by RTE. The Regional Finals can be watched back on Junk Kouture’s YouTube channel and details of the Dublin City Final this May including date, venue and tickets will be announced in the coming weeks. Eurospar and DHL are the official partners.

Stay up to speed with all things Junk Kouture 2023 on www.junkkouture.com and on Instagram and TikTok @junkkouture.

'Life of Pi...ne' and three other Cnoc Mhuire Granard costumes were chosen for the recent Western Regional Finals of Junk Kouture - 'Look Sharp' (Gabrielle Doroz, Oliwia Wegryzn and Danielle Murray McCabe); 'Tangled' (Holly Lynch & Erin Daly)  and 'Short Circuit' (Ella Grant, Ciara Kelly, Ellen Reilly).

Short Circuit (Ella Grant, Ciara Kelly, Ellen Reilly)
"Our design is created from used plastic light bulbs, copper wires and broken Christmas tree lights, which we got from families, school staff and a local recycling centre.

"Our concept is based on the fact that the world is now experiencing a global energy crisis. Some families have been forced into poverty, businesses have had to close down and economic growth has slowed. We could all face rationing in the years to come and the effects could be severe. There could be light at the end of the tunnel if we could further develop wind and solar energy. Renewable energy and sustainable living is our only way forward."

Look Sharp (Gabrielle Doroz, Oliwia Wegryzn and Danielle Murray McCabe)
"We used waste materials from the school bins and the school lost and found like pencil sharpenings, folders, paper clips and school shirts.

"Our design is based on the pressure of exams on young people. Our headpiece is heavy and represents all the information students have to try and retain in a short space of time. However we want to look on the bright side. We used lots of colour in our design to counteract this pressure students feel. Be positive and make time for the fun things in life. Mind yourself."

Tangled (Holly Lynch & Erin Daly)
"Our design is based on women's rights. Women's rights are human rights. Women have the right to live free from violence and discrimination and to be educated and earn an equal wage. Across the globe many women and girls still face discrimination based on gender. We want to address this inequality with our design and demand that our rights are respected.

"We need to connect and work together to untangle protocol to fight for our rights.

"Our design is mainly pink,which is seen universally as a colour for females. We used dented knitting needles, scraps of pink and purple wool, old baby blankets and signage board as a base."