Here comes the Junk – Deadline for recycled fashion competition looms closer

Artistic and creative secondary school pupils from across Ireland are being encouraged to get their hands on industrial, commercial and domestic waste products and turn them into pieces of high fashion art as the deadline for entries to the 2015 Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture Recycled Fashion competition in association with Repak looms closer – extended until February 7^th  2015.

Last year’s competition saw two entries from Co. Laois reach the Grand Final held in the O2 Dublin. Portlaoise College’s glamorous design Claudette Crochet was made by knitting together the tape from old cassettes by designers Lauma Stale, Jade O’Brien and Dylan Gowing along with the help of their teacher Deirdre Mooney. This dress has since been showcased at Electric Picnic among other events.

Scoil Chriost Ri’s design Alatinium was made from drinks cans by designers Eireann Brennan, Laura Buggy and Anna Healy with expert guidance from teacher Jayne Louise Kelly. This design was chosen as the Bank of Ireland Southern Wildcard which was presented to the team in their school by the 2014 Junk Kouture judge Rosanna Davison. It was a successful year for Co. Laois and this year Junk Kouture encourages more pupils from the county to take part.

Created in 2010 by entrepreneurs Elizabeth Curran and Troy Armour from Co. Donegal, the Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture competition has seen thousands of teenagers’ work submitted over the past four years, with some spectacular and awe-inspiring pieces gracing the competition’s regional and national catwalks. Last year’s grand final was attended by over 4000 spectators in the O2 Dublin and saw Westmeath students Pine-A-Colada from Our Lady’s Bower Athlone walk away with the top prize of €2,500 for their school, as well as €500 cash and a Mini iPads for the team.

The Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture catwalk shows which will determine who proceeds to the grand final will take place in theatres regionally throughout March and promise to be spectacular.

Bank of Ireland Youth Marketing Manager, Conor McGlynn, commented “We’re a dedicated supporter of secondary school initiatives and absolutely delighted to be sponsoring Junk Kouture for the third year running.  The competition has a unique way of empowering young people to hone their creative skills and meet others with similar interests. For Bank of Ireland, it’s a meaningful opportunity for us to engage with our school partners and customers and celebrate some of the most bold and innovative young people in the country.”

 

Repak Marketing and Communications Manager Laura Murphy said: “Repak’s mission is to drive behavioural change and encourage people to reduce, reuse and recycle from early on in life. We’re really excited to support Junk Kouture, a programme that doesn’t just inspire outstanding creativity in young people but encourages young people to be mindful of how much they consume and throw away.

Elizabeth Curran, Co-Founder of Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture reveals “It’s shaping up to be an electrifying competition this year and we are very excited to see the standard of entries. Don’t forget registration ends on 7^th February and is to be completed entirely online this year through www.junkkouture.com where students must upload photos of their creation and music to accompany their performance on the catwalk”. Tickets for the catwalk finals will go on sale on the 18^th of February from the theatres – The Millennium Forum, UCH Limerick, The Helix, Dublin and The Royal Theatre Castlebar.

Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture in association with Repak is open to all second level students. For further information, please visit junkkouture.com, Facebook or Twitter.

Ends//

Issued by Junk Kouture

For further information please contact Emile Rainey:

e: emile@junkkouture.com

T: 074 9320220

 

 

Notes to Editors:

About Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture:

Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture was created in 2010 by entrepreneurs Elizabeth O’Donnell and Troy Armour. The competition places a great emphasis on recycling and re-using junk materials in an exciting and creative way, resulting in spectacular and creative work gracing the catwalk shows.

Each entry/ outfit must be made from reworked trash or other materials that are beyond their intended purpose. A maximum of three students can work on each outfit. The outfit must be submitted by the 7^th February 2015 to qualify.

See www.junkkouture.ie for more

 

 

 

About Bank of Ireland:

Bank of Ireland Secondary Schools programme is a comprehensive financial education programme for schools that can be adapted to meet the needs of schools at all levels.

Junk Kouture is an important part of a range of fun and engaging initiatives supported by Bank of Ireland to provide a positive approach to developing students’ understanding of relevant issues to them – everything from teamwork, personal responsibility and striving for achievement.

See bankofireland.com/schoolsprogramme for more

 

About Repak:

Repak is a packaging compliance scheme which, since 1997, has helped its 2,000 member companies meet their legal obligation to fund the recovery and recycling of the packaging they have produced or supplied onto the Irish market.

Thanks to member companies and the €300,000,000 they have contributed since the inception of Repak, Ireland is now the 2nd in Europe in terms of recycling. There are 1,200,000 green bins outside Irish homes, which means Repak members do not have to take back their customers packaging waste.

See www.repak.ie for more