Students seek 'Junk Kouture' votes

It's all go at Borrisokane Community College as fifth year student Dara Darcy anxiously awaits the award ceremony on March 7 for her 'Doodle 4 Google' art piece and transition year students Jasmin Curran and Gillian McSherry have reached the south final of the eminent 'Bank of Ireland Junk Kouture' competition with their unique creation 'Serendipi-TEA.'

Jasmin and Gillian put their creative instincts to the test as they used thousands of used tea bags to create a fashion ensemble, inspired by the victorian fashion-era, which you can be sure was quite a laborious task! The students based their design on the delicate flow of pouring tea and the hat, which has been assembled as an accessory to the ensemble represents the swirl of steam that rises from a teacup! The girls collected the used tea bags from a number of locations and homes in the North Tipperary region and also collected daily from the school staffroom. Spending a whopping four months putting their incredible creation together, the girls carried out this exclusive task under the supervision of their art teacher Eileen Forde.

'Junk Kouture' is Ireland's leading fashion and art competition for secondary schools which challenges students to create original, unique and innovative outfits from recylcled materials or junk. Entries for 2016 exceded all expectations with over 1,100 entries submitted to the competition this year. Out of the magnificent number of entries, 80 designs were chosen for each regional final. Once these entries are chosen, the group will be reduced to 20 designs in each region, all of which will go through to the grand final in the 3Arena in April. The south final will take place in the University Concert Hall, Limerick on Friday, March 11 at 7pm. Tickets for this event are now on sale and can be purchased at www.uch.ie.

As of previous years, there will also be an online public vote for all of the regional finalists. These votes will be worth 10% of the overall score and will take place from Monday, February 22 to Friday, February 26. To vote you must go to the 'BOI students' Facebook page or log on to www.borrisokanecc.ie and follow the link. As voting through social media proved to be so popular when promoting Dara Darcy's design, it is hoped that such support and impact will be imposed on her fellow school colleagues as their design gleams with originality and exclusivity! So make sure to supprt your fellow Tipp natives and vote for Jasmin Curran and Gillian McSherry's 'Serendipi-TEA' in this year's 'Junk Kouture' competition!