RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage and X-Factor judge Louis Walsh crown Carndonagh trio Junk Kouture Ireland winners

Brónach Harkin, Robyn O’Donnell and Orlaith Doherty from Carndonagh Community School were announced as winners of the televised annual competition on RTE 2 in Thursday with their design, ‘Synergy’ beating entries from acros the country.

The trio produced a fishtail gown made of sea glass, plastic milk cartons and recycled glass such as bottles and jam jars, and reigned supreme over 80 finalists as the recycled fashion competition was televised for the first time.

Viewers at home tuned in to RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player to witness an array of inventive designs created and modelled by the talented young designers who waited throughout the pandemic for their moment to shine.

The 2020 final was originally scheduled for April 2020 in 3Arena, Dublin but was postponed on account of the outbreak of Covid-19. However, all was not lost as Junk Kouture, supported by Creative Ireland, found an alternative to the live event as the final was televised for the first time in its 10-year history last night.

The winning creation was inspired by world-renowned designer Elie Saab, and was chosen by an expert panel of judges including X-Factor judge Louis Walsh and RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage.

Under the guidance of teacher Pauline McDermott, students Brónach, Robyn and Orlaith from Carndonagh Community School collected sea glass to sew onto the dress, as well as making glass panelling for the gown from scratch, smashing recycled glass into fine pieces and sprinkling it on top of PVA glue to create the desired effect. They also cut out every petal on the dress from discarded plastic milk cartons.

The team now walk away with €1,000 in prizemoney and a further €2,000 for their school.

Other worthy award-winners were also honoured at the after show, the Winners’ Party which was broadcast online on www.junkkouture.com immediately after the TV programme.

Carndonagh student Robyn O’Donnell said: “We are shocked and so excited to have won, we can’t actually believe that this has happened after everything in the last year, there were a lot of obstacles along the way! Thank you so much to the judges for choosing us. All the hours we spent on this gown have paid off – we collected sea glass on the beach, smashed old jars and bottles and cut out hundreds of petals from milk cartons. Thank you to our teacher for all her encouragement. We loved every moment of the Junk Kouture experience and are so glad that the final got to go ahead.”

Michelle Visage said: “Synergy! You were scintillating, that was unbelievable! Honestly, I don’t know how you worked sea glass into a gown but you did it! And milk cartons? I’m never going to look at a milk carton in the same way. I could be wearing it instead of drinking from it. That is unbelievable babes, you deserve it all. Congratulations!”

Louis Walsh said: “Synergy, that was so different, so original, so authentic and it’s made from glass. Obviously, an awful lot of work went into it and it shows. It’s just absolutely beautiful and a great, great winner – well done Synergy.”

CEO of Junk Kouture Troy Armour said: “Well done to all our 2020 finalists who waited so patiently for their moment to shine. I hope everyone watching on TV here in Ireland and in our new international territories on RTÉ Player enjoyed this spectacular show. As always, I am in awe of the talent among these remarkable young people. I would like to extend a huge congratulations to our overall winners Brónach, Robyn and Orlaith – they embody everything that Junk Kouture is about. They have a flair for fashion and sustainability is at the heart of this fabulous creation. I am sure these young creatives have bright futures ahead of them.”

Director of Creative Ireland Tania Banotti said: “The Creative Ireland Programme is delighted to congratulate Robyn, Brónach and Orlaith from Carndonagh, Donegal on their fantastic design. We celebrate their amazing use of recycled materials that includes jam jars, sea glass and milk cartons. An enormous congratulations must also go to their teacher Pauline McDermott who has guided her students so successfully in this wonderful project. The enthusiasm and skills demonstrated by all the entrants has been wonderful to witness and we celebrate their hard work, their vision and their commitment to a greener world.”

Meanwhile, this successful format of recording finalists remotely and producing a show for broadcast will continue into 2021. As always, the golden rule is that the outfit must be made from 100% recycled materials. Registration for the 2021 competition is open now for students across Ireland and the UK until Friday April 19. Head to www.junkkouture.com now for more on how to enter or register on the brand-new Junk Kouture app available to download for IOS and Android.

In September 2021, Junk Kouture will begin its expansion into new territories such as France, Italy, the USA and the UAE.

Students and teachers can also keep up to date with all things Junk Kouture on all social media channels, @junkkouture