In photos: UAE school students model couture from internet cables and old fire hoses at Expo 2020 Dubai

The future of fashion is here at Expo 2020 Dubai, and it looks a lot like fibre optic dresses and fire hose gowns. At the World Conference of Creative Economy on Wednesday, UAE students showcased high-end fashion dresses made from recycled materials. This comes as part of the world’s largest youth fashion sustainability programme, Junk Kouture, exhibiting at Expo’s Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).

Having started in 2010 in Ireland, Junk Kouture is a yearly high-end fashion contest for students held globally, now taking place in UAE for the first time. Participants aged 13 to 18 have to create original couture designs from recycled materials, and in 2022, UAE finalists will compete against students in New York, Paris, Milan, London and Dublin. Troy Armour, CEO of Junk Kouture, gave a presentation at the World Conference of Creative Economy held at DEC ahead of the competition. The fashion show led by UAE students served as a teaser.

Five students from Dubai-based GEMS Wellington International School, one of the over 50 schools already signed up for the competition, walked the runway showcasing a vibrant range of recycled couture designs from Junk Kouture. These had been flown in from Ireland, where students had designed them in previous competitions.

Fibre Optic: The first dress, Fibre Optic, was a shimmering couture piece made of e-fibre internet cables, along with old wool and twine crocheted and sewn together, modelled by Nil from GEMS Wellington International School.

Fight the Flame: This fiery dress, modelled by Anfisa, is made entirely from old fire hoses that are no longer used as lifesaving tools, raising awareness about the recent global bush fires and the effects on our environment.

Memory Lane: Tessa modelled this dress designed from photography film sourced from a local photographer. The garment is hand-sewn and said to represent memories captured in life.

All Eyes On Me: Whoever thought plastic optic lenses could be made into a dress? Single-use plastics were heat-treated and bent to make this dress, modelled by Zaina, and it also incorporates upcycled wool and twine.

Apron Artistry: Katie Brill, speaker, said, "This design was inspired by the thought of combining art with fashion. By using old aprons from the art department, the team produced a haute couture design that is like wearable art combining their love for creativity, fashion and sustainability." This garment was modelled by Amna.

The art teacher from GEMS Wellington International School who is overseeing their competing team, Hakan Erkam, said, “Creative programs like Junk Kouture enable students to boost their self-esteem and make them take some risks which they don't normally. It prepares them for life, to be honest – and I’m sure they’ll be creating some absolutely fantastic work as well."

Troy Armour, CEO of Junk Kouture, said during his presentation: “Every kid on the [Junk Kouture] stage is like me, they’re me when I was that age. But, this is more important than just me, there are creative kids in every classroom in the world, sitting in corners, feeling that their skills are not valued. That’s why – this belongs to the world.” He also emphasized how fashion can be empowering as self-expression for youth, adding, “For me, fashion is the most important form of art – it’s universal, everybody uses it, everybody needs it".

Katie Brill, who was 2012 winner of the Junk Kouture World Designer of the Year award for the above piece 'Rejuicing is Appealing' (made out of orange peels), and current Vice President of PR and communications reminisced on her own experience in the contest:, “The whole experience was absolutely life changing, as not only was sustainability education made fun and I could do it through being creative, but it was also a very new concept to me back in 2012 as well. Sustainability education wasn’t as big as it is now. It made me realise as a young individual that I could use my creative skills to help prolong the life of an item, be it junk or be it items that’s moulding in my own wardrobe and this could have a really lasting positive change on our planet.”

Brill said: "Just recently, I’ve been lucky enough to have spent some time here in the UAE, implementing this creative program across many schools, learning about the residents and culture but also the emphasis that the UAE holds on celebrating youth, in driving change through creativity and sustainability.”

She adds: “Since launching in the UAE just in September, we have over 50 schools signed up over Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and I cannot wait to see what the students have in store for us through the creativity to help generate lasting positive change across the planet."

With digitisation due to the pandemic, Junk Kouture is expanding to cities like New York, Milan, Paris and Abu Dhabi as well as London and Dublin in 2022. Each city will have a top ten City Finalists, who will progress to the Junk Kouture World Final later in 2022 – where awaits the prestigious title of the Junk Kouture World Designer of the Year, along with a number of other awards and cash prizes.

So far, more than 15,000 Kouture designs have been created, with around 40,000kgs of waste saved from the landfill in the process. The televised show has also sold out 60 arenas. Previous judges included music manager Louis Walsh and Michelle Visage, a judge at the well-known TV series, RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The organization also runs workshops, masterclasses, educational programs about textiles, dance and design to transform waste materials, old clothes into new pieces.