McIntosh High students Chloe Davis and Cianna Ricci took the design world by storm. At the Junk Kouture sustainable fashion world finals in London, the duo’s design placed 1st in America and top 6 in the world.
“It feels very surreal to finish so high in the competition because I myself wasn't sure our design was strong compared to the others,” said Davis. “My partner Cianna reassured me that our design was worthy of high praise and support. I think this win is going to stand with me for the rest of my life as I was able to showcase a design that I made for the first time in forever.”
The dress is made of recovered material, including foam packing pieces, soda cans, plastic bottles, and an old bathing suit. Broken glass was sanded down piece-by-piece to complete the look.
Davis donned the dress, dubbed “Mother of Poison,” for the competition. It is inspired by Poison Ivy, a character in Batman comic books, and the plant of the same name.
“I felt she embodied the essence of being a strong individual who is capable of protecting herself and the world around her. We were also inspired by the role poison ivy as a plant plays in the ecosystem of the world as it protects the smaller plants around itself, as well as protecting itself from environmental harm connecting to the sustainability for the competition,” said Davis. “We also attributed the design to mothers because we feel our design is a good representation of maternal protection through the lens of nature.”
Ricci was the assistant designer and helped figure out the story behind the design. She also helped with the materials for the dress and social media content creation for the competition.
“Cianna was the main genius behind the meaning of our design and relating poison ivy's position in the environmental world to mothers in the modern world,” said Davis. “Without her ideas and creativity I don't think the design's story would be where it is today.”
Davis has designs on launching into a career in fashion.
“My dream is to pursue fashion design as I plan to get my BFA in fashion during college. I've been wanting to be a fashion designer my whole life now due to my love of designing and arranging garments together.”
Junk Kouture is a worldwide fashion competition open to 13-18-year-olds and challenges young people to design, upcycle, and create high-end fashion from recycled junk, before showcasing their design and representing their school on stages across the world.
Founded in Ireland in 2010, the competition has recruited 100,000 participants to date, produced 15,000 distinctive designs, saved 40,000kg of waste from landfill, and amazed packed crowds at 60 sold-out arena shows.
Posted 3/15/2024
