Big Week for Derry and Donegal Junk Kouture-ists

Three of Junk Kouture’s North West team have joined the organisation’s founder and CEO, Troy Armour, on a trip to New York City (NYC).

Junk Kouture is the world’s largest sustainable fashion competition for young people and originated from Buncrana, in Inishowen.

Nathan McKenna from Derry and Megan Kelly and Rory Kelly from Buncrana were in the Big Apple, where Junk Kouture was the ‘Sustainable Living Partner’ of Climate Week NYC, for the second year in a row.

The Derry and Donegal Junk Kouture presence was evident throughout the city all week, from sharing a platform with Matt Damon at the Climate Leaders Reception; having a window display with Irish designs in the Arts district; to showcasing to the top Sustainability Creators at the YouTube Creators for Climate Action Summit.

Junk Kouture has also announced a global collaboration with Deloitte to encourage and empower talented and passionate youth worldwide to join the fight against climate change.

This follows the earlier announcement of Etihad Airways and Rocket Sports joining Junk Kouture on their quest to “provide the sport for creative kids” and to “create the circular-engineers of tomorrow”.

Troy, who is originally from Buncrana but now lives in Derry, said: “It is crucial for us to work with organisations that share our vision and values.

“Deloitte is committed to taking bold action on climate change, and they have the global reach and experience that can help us support the future leaders and innovators of our world.

“As part of the collaboration, Deloitte will support curriculum development for Junk Kouture schools, including running a sustainability-focused Masterclass to provide Junk Kouture’s global community of students with exposure to and insights from industry experts and leaders.”

Jennifer Steinmann, Deloitte’s Global Sustainability and Climate Practice leader said: “Working with Junk Kouture to further their mission will help unleash the creative brilliance of future generations, continue to empower them as they embrace sustainable living, and provide them with opportunities to express their unique capabilities as they advance climate action.”

This year also marked the 10th anniversary of Global Citizen Festival in New York City, introducing a unique blend of pop and policy to the world.

A familiar leader in the creative space in Ireland, Junk Kouture made its very first appearance at the festival.

Troy stepped out on the Global Citizen red carpet with Junk Kouture participants from NYC and the design 'Fashion Flu' from St Louis Grammar School in Ballymena made from medical face masks by student’s Aoife Hay and Riley Harrison.

On the other side of the world, and a little closer to home, Caoimhe Kenny from Fahan represented Junk Kouture at the Brand Licencing Europe Event in London.

Part of the event saw Caroline Petit, Deputy Director from the United Nations Regional Information Centre, deliver a speech geared to encourage positive action across business, before inviting to the stage several Irish designs from Junk Kouture for an innovative catwalk and keynote on how the brand is delivering against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Katie Brill, senior vice president of PR and Communications at Junk Kouture said: “We aim to drive change through youth creative expression and delivering against six of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals across a range of activities led by the world’s youth.

“Sustainability is not a limitation to fashion, it is rather a trigger to bring more passion and real creativity into this industry,” concluded Ms Petit.