• Featuring a star-studded line-up of judges and 40 talented local student designs

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Junk Kouture, the world’s largest sustainable youth fashion programme, is delighted to unveil the date, location and celebrity judging panel for its much-anticipated UAE Final. Open to the public, the vibrant and exciting event will take place at the stunning Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, on Friday, June 24.

Curated to shine a light on the importance of climate change through creativity, Junk Kouture challenges young people to make striking and imaginative outfits out of 100% recyclable materials and items that are often unfairly labelled as waste. Over the past few months, dozens of schools across the nation have been working hard creating mesmerising and awe-inspiring looks and now, over 40 of the most incredible submissions have been selected to progress through to the Abu Dhabi City Final.

Giving students the chance to model and showcase their sensational outfits on stage at the glamorous and glittering catwalk event, each participant will be trying their utmost to impress the judging panel and secure a place at the World Final of Junk Kouture. Taking place later this year, the World Final will see 10 UAE talents compete against international participants from Milan, Paris, London, New York, Dublin and beyond. In this glittering and ground-breaking competition, there will be several awards and prizes up for grabs, including six individual City Designer Awards, plus the first ever Junk Kouture World Designer of the Year Award.

Haifa, Fatema, Rami and Aleena will be judging Junk Kouture's UAE Grand Final

Oozing electric energy and positive vibes, tickets to the UAE Grand Final go on sale from Monday, May 9th on Platinumlist.net. Adding an extra element of prestige and excitement, the star-studded judging panel, featuring Fatema Aref Almulla from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Syrian-born fashion designer Rami Al Ali, YouTuber and presenter Haifa Beseisso and Co-Founder of CTZN Cosmetics, Aleena Khan, will also be present to judge each entry live on stage.

With each judge specialising in different areas, their combined knowledge will ensure that each entry is thoroughly assessed and measured and given equal chances to shine. The four different personalities also have strong synergy with the ethos and message of Junk Kouture. For instance, Fatema Aref Almulla embodies the mission of Junk Kouture perfectly. As one of the key figures behind the UAE’s efforts to become a more sustainable and environmentally conscious nation, she is the ideal person to inspire the circular engineers of tomorrow. Meanwhile, Rami Al Ali, founder (and creative director) of luxury fashion brand Rami Al Ali has been chosen for his expertise and knowledge of this sector and he will doubtless have lots of useful advice and priceless tips to pass down to the students. 

On the other hand, Haifa Beseisso, the Palestinian-American travel vlogger, has a passion for breaking stereotypes and is most known for her hit YouTube show, Fly With Haifa. A great role model for young people across the world, she believes in promoting mindfulness empowerment and conscious conversations.

Finally, both Aleena Khan and Junk Kouture are determined to help make the world a more inclusive place, and encourage entrepreneurship in people from all backgrounds. The successful business leader co-founded the ground-breaking, inclusive beauty brand CTZN Cosmetics along with her two sisters. Born to Pakistani heritage in the US and raised in the UAE, their make-up range caters to all skin tones and ethnicities and is made ethically using 100 percent vegetarian and animal-cruelty free ingredients. 

Anyone with an interest in fashion, sustainability or art is encouraged not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the fashion designers and circular engineers of tomorrow present their incredible Junk Kouture creations live and on the catwalk in Abu Dhabi.

Founded in Ireland in 2010, Junk Kouture has so-far engaged with over 100,000 participants, saved 40,000kg of waste from landfill, produced 15,000 distinctive designs and amazed packed crowds at 60 sold-out arena shows. Now, after 11 incredible years in operation, Junk Kouture has gone global.

Indeed, the Junk Kouture has gone down a storm with students, teachers, parents and local communities in the UAE. With dozens of schools and communities taking part and doing their bit to recycle waste.

A teacher representative from Amity International School, Abu Dhabi, said: "I want to say a huge thank you to Junk Kouture for coming to the UAE and showing students the magic of creativity, fashion and textiles. It has been great for parents, and everyone working or studying at schools and colleges, to see how important sustainability is, especially within the fashion and textiles industries. I can’t wait to find out if any of our designs go through to the next stage of the competition and I’m already excited to help future year groups take part in Junk Kouture".

The Junk Kouture World Tour has launched in five of the world’s most dynamic cities: New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Milan and Paris. It has also revealed a goal of reaching 13 cities by the end of 2023, and a 10-year goal of impacting the lives of one billion young people across the globe by 2032. With over 800 schools actively participating in the programme, the message of Junk Kouture is already spreading rapidly, and the World Tour will allow it to expand even further, giving more young people the chance to express their creativity and impact climate change, no matter where they live or where they come from.

Tickets for the innovative and thrilling Grand Final spectacle are on sale from Monday, 9th May priced AED 100 from abu-dhabi.platinumlist.net.

Please see the full list of UAE finalists below and on the Junk Kouture Instagram page, and kindly visit www.junkkouture.com and for more updates and information.

Featured creations include:

1. Dubai American Academy’s entry – T-Wave which is a representation of a sea turtle, which symbolizes the polluted environment in which they live. Made from old fabric and white plastic bags.

2. A second Dubai American Academy entry – Madame Mystique: Inspired by Vivienne Westwood's portrayal of the Steampunk movement. Old curtains, old mini skirt, book pages, lace, old tights, old headband, card box, wire, fabric wastes & a net bag.

3. GEMS Wellington International School– Jelly Brain: Inspired by jellyfish, who scientifically have no brain. It is a metaphor for people, who mindlessly use plastic and pollute the environment. Used plastic bags, scrap paper and old clothes.

4. Covid in Style - The English Modern School: Inspired by the Filipiniana Dress, a traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines, which symbolizes pride, strength, and the willingness of a Filipina to fight for her own freedom and right. Spoons, bottle caps, newspapers, tissue wrapping paper, fake leaves and beads.

5. The Desert Bloom, JSS Private School: Inspired by the royalty of the Victorian Era, golden sands of the UAE and the futuristic rulers of this nation. 50 newspapers, bottlecaps, fabric scraps, plastic grocery bags, veg net, scraps of jewellery, bubble wrap, dry leaves and dry flowers.

6. The Desert Wanderer, Dubai American Academy: This garment is made to explore, to wander, to gather. Used different plastics, fabrics, and canvas.

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For media enquiries please contact:  
Shireen Shakeel 
Cosmopole Consultancy 
Email: shireen@cosmopole.com 

ABOUT JUNK KOUTURE:

 Junk Kouture is a creative youth challenge that promotes the importance of sustainability and educates about the issues surrounding climate change. Highlighting the fact that what we view as ‘junk’ can be recycled in useful and impactful ways, it challenges young people to create beautiful and interesting fashion outfits out of materials that are normally thrown away. 

Founded in Ireland in 2010 by tech entrepreneur, and CEO of Junk Kouture, Troy Armour, the competition has recruited 100,000 participants to date. Now, in 2021, Junk Kouture is expanding and going global with a 10-year ambition to enrich the lives of a billion young people through creativity and sustainability. The Junk Kouture World Tour will take in 6 major cities, including Abu Dhabi, New York City, London, Paris, Milan and Dublin, before the World Final, overseen by a panel of celebrity judges, takes place in November 2022.

The progressive competition is free to enter and open to all students between the ages of 13 and 18. Participants may join as individuals or in groups of up to three. Designed to create an inclusive community, educate people about the importance of protecting our planet and promote creativity, students of all backgrounds and levels of experience are welcome to join.

To purchase tickets for the inspiring and glamorous Junk Kouture City Final in Abu Dhabi this June, keep an eye out on abu-dhabi.platinumlist.net.  And, for more information on the announcement of the venue, please follow them on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.