Donegal’s Junk Kouture 2020 winners were on hand to announce that the Junk Kouture and RTÉ partnership will continue for 2021.
The Grand Final 2021 will be aired on RTÉ and RTÉ Player later this year.
Carndonagh Community School students Brónach Harkin, Orlaith Doherty and Robyn O’Donnell won Junk Kouture 2020 with their design Synergy, which was made of sea glass, plastic milk cartons and recycled glass such as bottles and jam jars. They featured on the first ever TV broadcast of a Junk Kouture final as the 2020 Grand Final was rescheduled and redesigned because of Covid-19.
Junk Kouture can now reveal that the 2021 Grand Final will once again be televised on RTÉ – with more exciting details still to come!
RTÉ and Junk Kouture teaming up for a second time enables both parties to keep the importance of using creativity to promote sustainability and climate consciousness front-of-mind with younger audiences. This partnership offers an opportunity to showcase the talent of creatives aged 13 – 18 from across the island of Ireland to a wider audience, as they create designs made entirely out of recycled and discarded materials, enabling them to express themselves while embracing sustainable habits and becoming the changemakers of our world.
In true Junk Kouture style, the 2021 finalists will have to impress a star-studded panel of judges who know a little bit about standing out from crowd and thinking outside the box when it comes to creativity, design and performance.
New judge, best-selling cookbook author, entrepreneur and fashion-upcycling enthusiast Roz Purcell, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Michelle Visage, TV personality and music manager Louis Walsh and former winner and fashion designer Stephen McLaughlin will all lend their expertise in the search for the next winner of Junk Kouture.
Keeping the show on the road will be RTÉ 2FM hosts Laura Fox and Emma Power, back for another year of presenting duties, while all the behind-the-scenes action will be brought to viewers by new presenting team, RTÉ Kids presenter Orla Morris Toolen and young Irish film maker Sean Treacy.
CEO of Junk Kouture Troy Armour, a native of Buncrana, said: “The RTÉ broadcast opens the world of Junk Kouture to new viewers, beaming the creative talents and innovation of Ireland’s young people into the sitting rooms of Ireland – and around the globe to our new territories with the RTÉ Player – so it is with great anticipation and excitement that the team plan for all that is to come with RTÉ back on board for another year. This builds on our commitment to young creatives and teachers to carry out a grand final despite the absence of live events this year and affords them the opportunity to continue the annual celebration of young Irish creative talent and sustainable innovation. We are also delighted to welcome back Louis, Michelle and Stephen and are looking forward to seeing what new judge Roz brings to the table as they crown the 11th annual winner of Junk Kouture!”
And don’t forget! While we wait patiently for the 2021 Grand Final, teachers of young creatives aged between 13 – 18 in Ireland can now register their school for the 2022 competition which will culminate in the first ever World Final! As always, the golden rule is your creation must be made from 100% recycled materials. Head to the Junk Kouture website https://junkkouture.com/sign-up-page/ for more info, follow Junk Kouture’s social channels @junkkouture and check YouTube for daily updates and inspiration!
Live regional finals in venues across Ireland are scheduled to return in March 2022 and successful entrants will then battle it out at the national final in Dublin as well as for ten coveted spots to compete at the Junk Kouture World Final later next year. If schools think they have what it takes to reign supreme on the global stage, students can enter as an individual or as a team with a maximum of three members.
