Co Down art students are fighting for their place in the final of a popular TV fashion competition.
A group of girls from St Louis Grammar School in Ballymena are one of the five wild cards selected to have a chance of being in the world final of Junk Kouture 2022.
With nine Irish finalists already selected by judges Louis Walsh, Roz Purcell, Soulé and Stephen McLaughlin for the first ever World Final in Abu Dhabi later this year, there is one more coveted spot up for grabs - the 2022 RTÉ Wild Card.
The winner of the RTÉ Wild Card and the 10th design to represent Ireland at the World Final will be announced live on RTÉ 2FM's Tracy Clifford Show in June.
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Nine creations by young designers aged 13 -18 years from around the country were chosen by the Junk Kouture judges to move forward as finalists.
15 year old students Mia Guidote, Ann Joseph and Niamh Gusterson from Ballymena have been working hard on their project since the competition kicked off in September.
Everything created and visible on the platform is fashioned and crafted by teen creatives - out of nothing but recycled materials.
Out of over 2000 schools in all of Ireland, the St Louis Grammar School students have got in the top 14 - with voting closing on June 2.
Art Teacher Fiona McAuley said: "These girls are superb ambassadors for the school, their families and for Junk Kouture as they have worked so hard and always with smiles on their faces. The thought that went into the message behind their work makes them an inspiration to young people.
"I was so impressed by their wonderful enthusiasm and the joy they brought to the Art Department as they meticulously problem solved, never flinching when things went astray. We as a department have loved every minute working with them."
The students added: "We built our design around the concept of an energetic teen princess who breaks the bounds of conformity to express her carefree inner self. This is epitomised by softened purple and blue tones which denote royal status in contrast to the shortened rule - breaking skirt and bodice top which snub order and formality in a fluffy, airy, bouncy fashion.
"Shards of dyed PVA create sculptural effects on the shoulders and head piece to evoke a strong-minded punk personality with edgy attitude. Hand crafted flowers are dispersed freely to embrace the aura of the cloudy punk princess.
"Soft 3D flowers have been assembled from a range of recycled packaging products including polystyrene peanuts, foam sheets and polystyrene sheets. Bubble wrap doubles up as fluffy layers for the skirt and colour has been extracted from discarded bottles of ink dyes and PVA glue to enhance the design.
"Repurposed cardboard tubing and wire have been combined to create a staff which completes the magical look."
To find out more and to vote, CLICK HERE.
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