Junk Kouture: Student reaches final of sustainable fashion competition

A sixth former who made a dress out of vertical blinds in her classroom is through to the finals of a sustainable fashion competition.

Tabitha, who attends Ribston Hall High School in Gloucester, will be one of 10 competitors representing the UK at the Junk Kouture Finals later this year.

Junk Kouture is the world’s largest youth sustainable fashion competition that challenges young people between the ages of 12 to 19 to create wearable art out of 100% recyclable materials.

Tabitha said: “I’m so so excited – it’s quite a lot of work that has gone into it so to have that recognised makes it more a rewarding experience.”

The student, who wants to go into the fashion industry when she finishes education, will be attending the finals abroad and and will be one of 10 students to represent the UK.

The competition was in Monaco last year, with this year’s final location yet to be announced.

She said: “It was already a rewarding experience, just doing it as a challenge, that was really exciting.

“But then having the fun part of it, of showing people it and pushing the message of sustainability and couture is really exciting.”

Tabitha said the use of old vertical blinds came to her when brainstorming ideas for the competition surrounded by the “fallen down” material in her classroom.

She asked her teacher about them and was given the go-ahead to try it out.

“I started taking some that had fallen down and just breaking them up and seeing how the material behaved.

“The sewing machines had a big struggle to get through the material,” she said. “It’s very thick, it’s very rigid, which is not something you really want for a fabric apart from if you’re doing a corset.”

The student started breaking the fabric down into strips which brought “movement to the fabric”.

She said: “It gives a lot more movement and kind of air to it which reflects what I would want from a fabric skirt.”

However the student said the outfit really starts with the hat.

“I wanted to have this old glamour feel to it and it brings the drama.”

Nikki Finch, the curriculum lead for design at Ribston Hall High School, said she was sceptical of the design at first but was “blown away” by Tabitha’s work.

“We did a lot of testing to start with and it was that testing that really sparked that excitement in Tabi.

“We’ve got to embrace challenges, so it was the perfect opportunity to do that,” she said.

“I think she is a real talent and she goes above and beyond in her school work and things she does outside of school.

“To see it all come together with this really exciting piece – I couldn’t be prouder.”

Katie Brill from Junk Kouture said Tabitha’s design is “fit for the runway itself”.

“I think what Tabitha has created is absolutely beautiful,” she said. “I think the overall silhouette really shouts couture.

“We believe young people, through their creativity, can help make a change within this crisis.

“We want young people to view waste as not always something that needs to be discarded but something that can be seen as the resource and the textiles of tomorrow.”