A dress highlighting Donegal’s defective concrete crisis was one of five designs to win a place in the Ireland final of this year’s Junk Kouture.
The sustainable style contest had another large entry from budding designers across Donegal this year.
Local students pulled out all the stops for the regional finals at the Helix in Dublin last Wednesday and Thursday, with five finalists making the cut.
Rose Gaffey from Loreto Community School Milford created a dress titled ‘Redress, Rebuild, Remodel’. Rose’s dress, constructed entirely from materials sourced from a building site, including cement, insulating foam, and roof membrane, served as a visual representation of the Mica and housing crisis in Donegal and beyond.
Redress, Rebuild, Remodel
Loreto Community School Milford
Carndonagh Community School celebrated two finalist teams: ‘Apricity’ by Lily McGonigle and Niamh Donaghey, and ‘Acro Iris’ by Alannah Doherty. Deele College students Zara Doherty and Niamh Byrne also impressed with their design, ‘Siren Song.’
Apricity
Acro irus
Moville Community College’s ‘Freedom’ by Maia McDermott, Alicia Atherton, and Clara Doherty also secured a finalist position. This mermaid design, modelled by Maia is wheelchair-user-friendly, demonstrating that fashion can be both sustainable and accessible.
The Junk Kouture Dublin City Finals will take place in May, where finalists will be chasing spots in the World Final.
Freedom