Blessington’s Junk Kouture world-beaters say adaptability and innovation are keys to success
DAYS after their triumph at the World Junk Kouture finals, Wicklow’s winning team have said that adapting their design and letting it evolve naturally was the secret to their success.
Winner of the coveted Wearable Art Award, ‘The Muse’ by Blessington Community College students Erris Lindsay and Asia O’Riordan featured alongside nine other Irish costumes in the prestigious finals at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum.
On a night that saw budding Irish designers bring home a haul of awards, Asia and Erris’ design, inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ and the under-representation of women’s contributions to art throughout the ages, was selected out of a catalogue of designs by students from finals in England, the United States, Italy, France and UAE.
Arriving back in west Wicklow on Friday after the whirlwind, once-in-a-lifetime experience, Erris took a moment to reflect on her Junk Kouture journey and the fantastic partnership she enjoyed with Asia, who is continuing her education at the Institute of Education in Dublin.
“It was a big shock when they called our name, but we had been focusing on manifesting success in the competition since the very beginning, and this was the award we had our eye on,” Erris said.
“It started with imagining ourselves going through at the regionals, and then, we kept saying on the plane on the way over to Monaco, ‘When we bring home the award for wearable art...’, and then it happened.
“We owe a huge thanks to our teacher, Ms Troy, for all her support along the way.
“Looking back on it, I would say to anyone doing or thinking of doing Junk Kouture to enjoy it, and, if you’re doing it in a group, get a good partner or partners that you work well with,” Erris added.
“Your idea doesn’t have to be fully formed at the start. You can create as you go, and it is important not to get caught up on the smaller things because they should work out in the end.
“Asia and I were set on making a different type of headpiece, and we couldn’t make it work after being at it for nearly two weeks.
“We had a completely different idea at the start too, and came to the idea of ‘Starry Night’ and just went from there, so I suppose it was about letting the design evolve and not getting too hung up on or attached to any details.”
On the eve of the final, Asia and Erris enjoyed a creativity lab where the CEO of Junk Kouture, Troy Armour, organised a panel of speakers that discussed how creativity played a part in their success, with Erris finding the words of Jeff Hoffman – founder of booking.com – particularly inspirational.
Praising Asia and Erris for their creativity, commitment and openness to new ideas, BCC teacher Tanya Twyford Troy, who joined them on their trip to the principality, said that the school couldn’t be prouder of the girls, who are an inspiration to current and prospective Junk Kouture competitors.
“It was the award we had our eyes on, the one we had been manifesting the whole time – we’re the poster people for manifestation,” Tanya joked.
“For this particular award, Most Wearable Art, judges were essentially looking for a wearable piece of art, a wearable sculpture – and that really is what the girls created. It is stunning.
“It was an amazing achievement for Erris and Asia, and everyone at the school is incredibly proud of their success.
“Their parents deserve a lot of praise too, as they were very supportive in letting the girls do it because there were some intense evenings, weekends and mid-term breaks where they put a lot of hours in.
“No doubt, their achievement will continue to inspire up-andcoming creative designers for years to come,” she continued.
“We have a group in the art room, literally as we speak, working on their costume ‘Miotais na Tire’ ahead of the regional final next week. Asia and Erris winning have made it all a bit more real for them in showing that it is possible.
“I’m having students say: ‘When we are in Monaco’. So there is a great sense of belief has come out of it.
“We had 6th class students in here before the midterm break doing workshops for choosing their subjects, and some of these kids were approaching me asking about what materials they could collect, so it really has become very much part of the zeitgeist for the kids coming into the school.”