Transition Year students in Cork have found an inspiringly artistic and fashionable way of repurposing used sailcloth into something completely new.
Sally O’Flynn, daughter of Baltimore 1720 sailor Peter O’Flynn, has teamed up with friend Hanna D’Aughton for the all-Ireland schools competition Junk Kouture — which challenges second-level students to recycle everyday junk materials into high fashion outfits.
The fourth-year pupils of Regina Mundi College spent four months on their creation, titled Morskie Oko, Polish for ‘Eye of the Sea’, in a nod to Hanna’s eastern European heritage.
Sally used her connections to the UK Sailmakers loft in Crosshaven to obtain the necessary sail fabric — as well as advice on how to transform it using glue spray, tape and more than a little ingenuity.
“The concept for our design was to blend Hanna’s Polish background with my sailing background,” Sally explains.
“We also wanted to show that the sea is a linking force between people and places.
“We manipulated the sails in many different ways to create our outfit. They were cut, sewn, curled and we embroidered Polish folk designs onto them.”
A panel of judges, as well as a public vote which takes place 11-15 February, will decide which designers get to strut their stuff on the upcycled catwalk for the regional final in Limerick.
Then the top 16 designs from around the island of Ireland will advance to the grand final in Dublin’s 3Arena on Thursday 2 May.
And Sally and Hanna will be hoping to sail onto the national stage to show off all their hard work this summer.
