It took a lot of time for a group of young designers from Castlebar to turn a pile of broken watches and clock parts into haute couture.
But the weeks and months of collecting, hoarding, and intricate stitching, to recycle junk into cutting edge fashion looks set to pay off. A number of Mayo students have secured themselves highly-coveted places on the catwalk for the regional final of Junk Kouture.
Junk Kouture is a competition challenging budding designers in second level schools nationwide to create high-end fashion from everyday junk.
Design teams from Davitt College and St Joseph’s, Castlebar, are among those to have made the regional finals, taking place in the TF Royal Theatre on Wednesday.
Caoimhe Bourke-Tuffy, Katie Conway, and Anna Lawlor from Davitt College have been working on their industrial style creation - made entirely from clocks and watches - since before Christmas.
Art teacher at the school Ciara Silke said that with no class time scheduled for the fashion competition, the transition year students have been really committed, working outside school hours, to see the project through.
“They have been so committed to this,” said Ms Silke. “When they found out they made it through to the regional finals, they were delighted.”
A second team from the school, made up of Helen Murphy, Emma Kelly, and Orla Fahy, have used shells and broken jewellry to create a stunning, floor length, ballgown and also claimed a place on the catwalk next week.
“The students have really worked on their own initiative and learned so many new skills,” added Ms Silke. “They have had to plan, stick to deadlines, experiment with different processes, work with local businesses to collect materials, organise a photo shoot, time manage, and organise. They’ve been great.”
The junk to fashion catwalk display for the regional finals of Junk Kouture take place in the Royal Theatre, Castlebar, on Wednesday March 12, at 7pm.
