Students have the bottle to strike gold with Junk Kouture

Using an estimated 1,000 milk containers and God knows how many plastic teaspoons, two Cork teenagers have designed an extraordinary outfit which has catapulted them through to the finals of a prestigious national fashion contest.

It took Barbara Mitrasova and Julia Sworzeniowska two full school years and countless hours at home — but their fabulous creation, Papillon D’Or, has brought them to the finals of the renowned Junk Kouture fashion competition for secondary school students, which takes place in two weeks’ time.

Their eye-catching, single- shouldered, gold-and-white gown features a shimmering gold breastplate designed from plastic teaspoons and a feathery white skirt with a long train, crafted from milk bottles and a matching head-piece.

Fifth-year students at Coláiste na Toirbhirte in Bandon, the duo face a nerve-wracking wait for the finals of the hugely popular competition in Dublin on May 2. They’re hoping that members of the public will give their entry an extra boost by voting for them on Facebook.

In January, Barbara and Julia entered their creation in the Junk Kouture competition with fellow fifth-year student Leona Sheehan as their model. With thousands of entrants, the girls made it into the southern regional round of the competition.The outfit was one of 20 selected out of the 80 regional outfits to go through to the grand final in Dublin.

Teacher Eilish Wilcox said: “The bodice is made from gold-sprayed plastic teaspoons and the skirt is made from milk bottles which were cut into feathery or leaf shapes and layered to form a long skirt with a train.”

The ensemble is teamed with gold gloves and shoes and a gold butterfly-shaped head-piece made from milk bottles.

The students are seeking support in the Facebook voting programme which will take place on the ERP (European recycling platform) Facebook page from April 14-27. These votes count towards the team’s overall score on the night. www.facebook.com/papillondor2014