Moo! Milk cartons bring Junk Kouture winners to Cannes

Moo was crowned the winner of the eighth annual Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture final at the 3Arena, when 86 student models performed in front of an audience of 6,500 friends and family.

Moo from Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone was modelled by Isabelle Clarke and designed by Mary Brody with the use of 300 milk cartons which were cut into shapes and connected together by over 30,000 O rings. Moo won the prestigious Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture trophy and €2,500 cash for their school. The team will each receive €500 cash and an iPad mini. Class will also be Cannes-celled for the five regional winning teams as they jet off with Bank of Ireland to the Cannes International Film Festival to walk the red carpet and showcase their incredible designs to the global paparazzi this summer. 
Other prizes awarded included The Bank of Ireland Glamour Prize; awarded to She's No Egg, But She's Some Yolk from Our Lady’s Bower and What Lies Beneath from Moate Community School. The stylish winners will have the opportunity to model their outfits on the red carpet at the glamourous Royal Premier in London.  In addition the Bank of Ireland Enterprise Award was awarded to Stand Up and Fight from Coláiste Nano Nagle, Limerick and the Bank of Ireland Techno Wearables Prize was awarded to Digital Download from Presentation College, Tuam Galway . 

Moo surpassed all expectations and blew the star studded judging panel away; made up of X Factor and Ireland’s Got Talent judge Louis Walsh, style guru Pippa O’Connor, fashion educators and experts Tracey Fahey and Jane Leavey, alongside  previous winner and LSAD graduate Stephen McLaughlin, who had the difficult and unenviable task of choosing the overall winners.

The young budding designers have been working tirelessly on their extraordinary designs since the start of the school year. They were tasked with creating haute couture outfits from recycled materials and junk. Each of the 86 finalists strutted the catwalk to thundering applause and screams from a capacity audience who were also treated to a performance by pop sensation and winner of Dancing with the Stars 2018 Jake Carter, four piece Indie/Pop outfit from Mullingar Fallen Lights and dance troupe XOD. 

Laura Lynch, Head of Customer Propositions at Bank of Ireland said: “Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture has supported thousands of students over the years giving them a head start by teaching valuable skills such as teamwork, innovation and the opportunity to inspire each other throughout the competition. Every year we get to the grand final and are blown away once again with the creative talent in our schools. It’s no surprise that Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture has become a launch pad for a number of successful careers in architecture, fashion design, fine arts, teaching and entertainment. Congratulations to Moo who is taking the title of Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture winner back to her school Our Lady’s Bower in Athlone”. 

Troy Amour, Co-Founder of Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture also commented:  “It’s even better than last year, I cannot believe the incredible display of young Irish design talent. Thanks to our tireless partners bank of Ireland  encouraging their partner schools to take part This year we had to add a fifth regional final (Dublin) in order to cope with this year’s jump in applicants from 1,300 to 1,533. The level of competition and standard of creativity keeps growing and we’re very excited to see what else is to come”

 The winners of the eighth annual Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture were as follows;

Overall Winner & West Regional Winner:
Name: Moo
School: Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone
Model: Isabelle Clarke
Students: Mary Brody
Made from: Milk Cartons

Bank of Ireland Glamour Prize Winner 1:
Name: She's No Egg, But She's Some Yolk
School: Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone
Model: Ellen Kearney
Students: Katie Shortall
Made from: Egg Cartons 

Bank of Ireland Glamour Prize Winner 2:
Name: What Lies Beneath 
School: Moate Community School            
Model: Tina Geoghegan
Students: Arthur Finlay & Rebecca Flyn
Made from: Animal Bones

North Regional Winner:
Name: Serenity 
School: City Armagh High School
Model: Rachel Irwin
Made from: Trampoline mat, feathers from uncle’s farm, Christmas wreaths from brother’s grave

South Regional Winner:
Name: Expressivo
School: Presentation Secondary School, Clonmel, Tipperary. 
Model: Alanna Gilbert
Students: Sarah Ni Cheallaigh, Keyara Connolly
Made from: Internal parts of a Piano

East Regional Winner:
Name: Dragon Sceal
School: Scoil Mhuire Community School, Naas, Kildare
Model: Jamie Yap
Students: Alix Weld, Shauna O'Rourke
Made from: Recycled takeaway menu cards, foil insulation, rubber caps, newspaper, foam filters and old bike helmet.

Dublin Regional Winner:
Name: Inbhuanaitheacht
School: Malahide Community School
Model: Aisling Shiel
Students: Alex Mangan, Cliodhna Cole-Rigney
Made from: Flax-hemp a pure natural hemp fibre product that is made of the long fine fibre that comes from the stem of the flax plant

LSAD Scholarship Prize:
Name: What Lies Beneath 
School: Moate Community School            
Scholarship awarded to: Arthur Finlay
Made from: Animal Bones

Griffith College Scholarship Prize:
Name: Inbhuanaitheacht
School: Malahide Community School
Scholarship awarded to: Alex Mangan for her design
Made from: Flax-hemp a pure natural hemp fibre product that is made of the long fine fibre that comes from the stem of the flax plant

Best Hair and Makeup Prize:
Name: Head Space
School: Elphin Community College
Model: Grace Kielty
Students: Rachel Muldowney, Alan Costello

Best Performance Prize:
Name: A Chance to Change
School: Coláiste Rís
Model: Nathan McKenna

Bank of Ireland Enterprise Award: 
Name: Stand Up and Fight
School: Coláiste Nano Nagle, Limerick
Model: Megan O'Mahoney
Students: Emily Griffin, Rebecca Keane
Made from: Munster Rugby Flags

Most Unusual Material Prize:
Name: Fear Leighis na Mara Plaisteach
School: Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí, Tralee, Kerry
Model: Lennox Beaujouan
Students: Peadar Toibin, Sean O'Loingsigh
Made from: Fish Skins

Bank of Ireland Techno Wearables Prize: 
Name: Digital Download
School: Presentation College, Tuam, Galway
Model: Ciara O'Callaghan
Students: Eimear Fahy, Dervla Brogan
Made from: Floppy disc, VCR Tapes

JACC Sports Equipment Prize:
Name: Gach Réalta
School: Presentation College, Tuam, Galway
Model: Aoife Coen
Students: Laura Odea, Shauna McNamara, Laura McTigue
Made from: Football,s gloves, ropes-goal, net laces, football cogs