Dubai pupils create dress from Halloween sweet wrappers for Junk Kouture

Aug 10, 2023

An old bed sheet, a torn top, pasta packaging, bags of crisps, food labels, popsicle sticks and sweet wrappers following a night of trick-or-treating on Halloween are the materials used by three Dubai pupils to create a sustainable dress.

The design by Violette Hauvespre, Sacha Millet and Mia El Mougharbel – all grade 8 pupils from Swiss International School Dubai – was chosen as one of the finalists at the coming world final of Junk Kouture fashion show in London.

The vibrantly coloured wrappers lend life to the garment's trailing mullet skirt, while the trio also created a hat that looks like a spilt ice cream cone. They call the look Candylicious.

Mia wearing the dress. Photo: Swiss International School Dubai

"We chose a colourful, bright design to convey the impact of pollution, especially plastic and trash going into landfill," says Hauvespre.

She adds that Halloween helped them gather as many sweets wrappers as possible for the project. "We went around trick or treating, and collecting sweets wrappers. From there we expanded the materials we used to food packaging and labels, and Popsicle sticks."

The three pupils, aged between 13 and 14, were guided by their art teacher Teresa Pollard who lauded the trio's "hard work, creativity and perseverance" as well as the design's sustainability focus.

The pupils presented their creation at the regional round of Junk Kouture in Abu Dhabi in May.

From left, Violette Hauvespre, Sacha Millet and Mia El Mougharbel. Photo: Swiss International School in Dubai

Designs from nine other UAE schools – including American School of Dubai, The Arbor School, Gems Education New Millennium School and Abu Dhabi International School – are also competing in the finals at the Ovo Arena Wembley on October 12, against peers from Milan, London, New York, Paris and Dublin.

Junk Kouture was founded by Troy Armour in 2010. He aims to engage and inspire 1 billion children around the world to harness their creativity using nothing but the waste materials around them.

In Ireland alone, Junk Kouture has signed up more than 100 schools, staged 60 shows, showcased 15,000 designs and saved about 40,000kg of rubbish from landfill.