Transition year students who created a dress from silage wrap have reached the Junk Kouture All-Ireland final.

Rachel Murphy, Amy Seery and Danielle O’Neill from Mercy Secondary School Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, designed and created ‘An Tarbh Dubh’.

Junk Kouture is a competition for young creators to turn waste into wearable works of art.

“An Tarbh Dubh is a powerful, dramatic dress made from farm waste,” says Rachel Murphy.

Speaking about the process of coming up with an outfit for the competition, Rachel says the group are all from farming backgrounds and have a huge interest in farming.

“We also have a keen interest in the world of fashion. We were inspired by Doja Cat’s 2023 Grammy look – to us the materials used in her dress replicated the look of silage wrap.”

Making the dress

Around 10kg of silage wrap was used in the dress, all of which had to be scrubbed clean.

After this, Rachel said they, “cut the silage wrap into strips and plaited them. We used an iron to seal the ends by melting the plastic.”

“After at least three and a half months of plaiting, we then hand sewed the plaits to shape, using a template of my body that we had created. The under layer of the skirt is made from an old bed sheet and then plaits were sewed and glued to shape.

“We used old rusted washers as hooks for the ribbon to create an elegant design at the back. To remove the rust, we soaked them in vinegar, gave them a light sanding and sprayed them black,” Rachel added.

“The horns are made from waste styrofoam that was protecting a piece of equipment that had been delivered to Amy’s farm. They were carved out with a knife and wrapped in silage wrap.”

Women in agriculture

“It was important for us that the meaning behind the dress was mirrored by the design. Every plait tells a story reminding us of the power of women while also illustrating that the agricultural industry must reduce its carbon footprint and the use of single use plastics, such as silage wrap, for the benefit of future generations,” says Rachel.

“We believe that there is a stigma surrounding girls in agriculture and we want to emphasise that they can be interested in fashion and other so-called ‘girly things’ while also being involved in farming.”

Final

The girls have made it to the Dublin City final which will take place on 1 October. At this live event, 10 teams will be chosen for the World Finals.

To keep up-to-date with the girls and learn about their innovative design ‘An Tarbh Dubh’, you can follow them on Instagram @an.tarbh.dubh_jk.