Return to flip book view

2023-24 ISSUE 18 BCC WEEKLY NEWSJunk Kouture Edition

2WORLD FINALISTSBlessington Community College has reached the World Final of Junk Kouture!Competing against nearly 3,000 entries nationwide last May, The Muse have made it into thetop 10 nationally to travel to the World Final. The competition will be in Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum on Thursday February 22nd. Erris Lindsay and Asia O’Riordain are travelling with their art teacher Tanya Twyford Troy torepresent BCC along with only 9 other schools from Ireland to compete with 50 other teamsfrom the USA, France, UAE, Italy and Great Britain.Their design “The Muse” was created using hand knitted fabric, discarded “melty” beads, willow,net, wool, paper and patchwork denim. They wanted to visually represent the role women have played in art throughout history; as amuse, or a craftworker. While women did practice as artists, our history books have largelyerased their contributions. Follow the team’s progress on BCC’s facebook page or you can follow The Muse on Tik Tok 2022 National Finalists

3THE MUSEWatch the video below to hear Asia and Erris talk you through the elements of Science,Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths in the creation of their design

4Blessington Community College is a relative newcomer to Junk Kouture. While the competition isaround for 15 years, this year will only be our 5th as competitors. It started as an 8 week module in Transition Year, with teams who wanted to compete continuing intheir own time. Since then, it has become so popular, we now run an elective class all year for TYstudents who want to take part. Our first entrants were in 2019-20 and both of them made it to the regional finals. “A Drop in the Ocean” (pictured left) created by Ellie White, Erin Kelly and Emily O’Brienreferenced the damage plastic is doing to our oceans. They used expanding foam, plastic bottles,wire and card to create their pieceThe “Marriage Between Two Slices” (right) utilised unused wrappers from butter pats, Taytocrisps and Brennans bread to make reference to the ubiquitous crisp sandwich. They designedtheir piece in the style of a wedding dress. Their team; Niamh O’Connor, Hannah Byrne, HannahMcGrath and Kate Loughman, managed to whip up support through public voting and took theirrightful place alongside 60 others from the South East, on stage in The Helix in March 2020These two trailblazing teams started the buzz in the school around Junk Kouture and put BCC onthe JK map. Some of last year’s and this year’s entrants are sisters of the 2020 teams, so we have a lot tothank them for! Not to mention that our teams last year and this year have made good use of thecrisp packet rolls left over from their designs. True sustainability. BCC IN JUNK KOUTURE2020 Regional Finalists

5The World’s First Sport for Creative Teens!Junk Kouture is a zero-cost programme open to 12 – 19-year-olds in second level education,Junk Kouture challenges emerging fashion designers, engineers, artists, performers, and anyonewith a creative flair to envision, upcycle and create high end couture from recycled junk.Every year at Junk Kouture, design teams from across Ireland, UK, USA, France, Italy, and UAE,submit their incredible recycled couture designs in a bid to be selected to participate in their localJunk Kouture City Final. From each City Final, ten design teams from different schools are thenselected to represent their country at the annual Junk Kouture World Final, where sixtyinternational finalists will compete on a global stage for the title of World Designer of the Yearalong with an array of other awards up for grabs.THE BRIEF ASKS STUDENTS TO:• Embark on a creative journey and a journey of self-discovery on all things climate related.• Research designers, techniques, and materials,figure out who or what your inspiration is.• Plan out a work of art through use of a moodboard and sketching.• Craft ideas into any style of wear - use imagination and create that jaw dropping finished look.• Get creative with photography, video, and storytelling – these are all part of the applicationprocess. • Tell the judges a design story! The inspiration behind this, the materials used, the hours spentcreating, and how it promotes sustainability – anything that will make a design stand!• Stick to our most important rule - the design must be made from 100% recycled materials -items that have outlived their intendedpurpose.WHAT IS JUNK KOUTURE?

6The significant challenges of the Covid lockdowns did not dampen the enthusiasm and resolve ofour Transition Year Junk Kouture students. The work you are looking at on this page, much of it was done at home. The work in school was insmall groups, socially distanced with limited access to materials because of supply at the time. The quality of the work was exceptional, the students worked during lunch breaks, after schooland weekends, setting the tone and the standard for the teams to come after them.We are hugely proud of their work, and some of these pieces are still on display.TY CLASS OF 20212021 BCC Junk Kouture

7Junk Kouture encourages students to think about sustainability, the reuse of single use materials,giving redundant items or junk a new life. The competition asks entrants to consider the UNSustainable Development Goals, and how their work feeds into this message. It inspires innovation, reflection and gives them an opportunity to send a message to their peersthrough art, fashion and music. In our five years, our students have used a wide range of materials that were headed for waste:Newspaper, old photocopies, cardboard, plastic bags, wool, straws, discarded wire, old clothes,aluminium cans, plastic bottles, bread wrappers, crisp and butter packs, Christmas decorations,beads, half knitted garments, garden twine, willow branches, contact lens containers, paperplates, curtains, paper from notice boards, corks, sheep wire, broken umberellas, old schoolbooks, burst footballs, CDs, broken mirrors, old jewellery, lightshades and I am sure we areforgetting lots more!SUSTAINABILITY

8When teams apply to enter the competition, they have to submit photos of their work, in progressand complete. The photos must represent their concept as well as a visual record of their design.Form, shape, colour, texture, wearability and materials should all be identifiable in the images. For the first three years, students set up their own photo shoots, and did a fantastic job. Theyhave captured some of the most iconic shots of our entrants in those years. The introduction of Tik Tok to our social media options has been a valuable creative tool andstudents have recorded some memorable moments from their JK journey. PHOTOGRAPHY Click here

9PHOTOGRAPHY We are very lucky to have Liz and Evan White as part of the BCC family. The combination ofthe professional shoots along with students’ own images have really enhanced the creativeprocess for us all. This year, having Evan, one of our own past pupils, return to shoot the designs, was aproud moment for us in BCC. The shots are stunning! We are eternally grateful for their vision and being so good in turning up at short notice, atevenings and weekends. We would be lost without them.

1 0NATIONAL FINALSIn 2022 one of our teams made it to the National Finals for the first time!It was a huge moment, for the students, the art department and the school community. Ciara Beresford, Orlaith Hynes, Lauren Richardson created the design “Optical” which wasinfluenced by contemporary illustration and pop culture. The design was modelled byNiamh Ryall in the 3 Arena in front of a crowd of nearly 3,000.2022 National Finalists

1 1The night in the 3Arena was incredible. The atmosphere, the crowd and the creativity ofTransition Year students across the country was inspiring. Click on the links below to see some live action from the nightNATIONAL FINALS

1 2CLASS OF 2023We had an enormous uptake in competitors from BCCin 2022-23. The quality and standard was stepped uponce again, spurred on and encouraged by the teamsthat came before them.There was a determination in that group that wasevident in the quality of their work. Indeed we had 12 teams create designs, although 3opted not to be photographed and compete. Pictures by Liz White2023 BCC Junk Kouture

1 3Two teams from BCC made it through the Regional Final stage, and on to the Dublin Final inthe 3 Arena in 2023.Going to the 3 Arena again, now with two teams was an enormous thrill. It was great to havethe two teams supporting each other, both of them presenting extraordinary creations.Niamh (the model from Optical) was back again supporting Simone Cabalum, a 5th yearstudent who had entered the previous year. She worked outside school time, not missing oneminute of class, except for the final day of course! Huge credit goes to Simone and Niamh forthe work they put in and the resulting success. Their design “The Truth is Transparent” used plastic Shein bags and plastic straws. Shein is afast fashion brand. Fast fashion has been found to be a huge polluter and Simone intended todraw attention to the volume of plastic they produce, using bags from only one consumer forher design.NATIONAL FINALS AGAIN!

1 4SHOW IN THE 3ARENABCC TY students have been hugely supportive of our finalists. On the night of the finals,they showed up to support our teams in the finals in force. They made canvas banners andmade their voices heard when the two girls hit the stage. Click the links below to watchtheir performances.

1 5Take a closer look at “The Muse” and “The Truth is Transparent” courtesy of photographyby Liz WhiteNATIONAL FINALISTS 2023

1 6CLASS OF 2024Again in 2024, our TY students have worked tirelessly to produce innovative and creativedesigns. While our models are front and centre in their designs, they are co-creators along withtheir other team mates. The photos below are of this year’s TY teams along with theircreations. All have worked incredibly hard to produce what you see below. 2024 BCC Junk Kouture

1 7There is no doubt that our JK creators have made waves among the junior classes. This year, one of our 1st year students, Sophie Warren, inspired by the creativity of pastentrants as well as her own passion for fashion and art, created her own JK design. Sophie worked on this in her own, at home, only bringing drawings in from time to time toget some feedback. She hit the deadline ahead of her TY counterparts, and submitted herwork, along with the written explanation, photos, video and material description. It is ahuge piece of work for any student, never mind a 1st year, working completely outsideschool hours at home. Her piece is a comment on how Victorian standards for women’s fashion are only beingrecently challenged, but linger still today and act as a cage for women. FIRST YEAR TRAILBLAZER

1 8AND THE GOOD NEWS KEEPS ON COMING!BCC have done it again!!!Miotais na Tíre have made it to this year’s Regional Finals in The Helix on March 4th They have made it to the top 32 of the South East contenders. 160 from the entirecountry will compete to make it to the National Finals in the 3 Arena in May.The team are: Holly O’Reilly, Tessa Karels and Ruby O’Brien. Ruby is a sister of one ofour first regional finalists Emily, so the tradition is alive and well!! Miotais na Tíre references the stories told in Irelands’ myths and legends. The colours,imagery, the accessories all have a basis in Bronze Age Ireland. The train is made of literal junk; scrunched up paper, tissue, boxes, paper bags andwhatever rubbish was generated in the art room during its creation. Go n-éirí go geal libh! 2024 Regional Finalists