A TRIO of pupils from Coláiste Bríde in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, was yesterday announced winner of the European Recycling Platform Junk Kouture Grand Final 2012 with a design entitled Lady Data.
The recycled fashion competition challenges secondary school students to create a couture fashion outfit from recycled and waste objects. The materials students used included computer cables, batteries, orange peels, teabags, pencil parings and safety belts from cars.
The event, which followed rounds of regional competitions, saw more than 1,300 second-level students compete for the title and €6,000 worth of prizes.
Lady Data was created by students Kelly Bolger, Michaela Doyle-Murphy and Sarah Greene.
Their Lady Gaga-esque outfit was inspired by the increasing importance of technology in our lives and included circuit boards, keyboards and copper cabling donated by local businesses and the Enniscorthy Recycling Centre.
The judging panel included designer Peter O’Brien, stylist Angela Scanlon, Northern Irish designer Zoe Boomer and head of corporate communications at ERP, Yvonne Holmes.
Mr O’Brien said Lady Data impressed the judges with its intelligent use of materials and impeccable finish.
“In a competition such as this, it’s a combination of creativity, good design, finish and good technique you’re looking for,” he said. “But sometimes it’s also a magical something that just works.”
More than 2,000 students, their families and teachers gathering for the awards event at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel.