Joseph Monaghan aiming for Junk Kouture glory on the world stage

Joseph Monaghan aiming for Junk Kouture glory on the world stage

17-year-old fashion enthusiast, Limerick’s Joseph Monaghan is aiming to take this year’s Junk Kouture world crown

17-year-old fashion enthusiast from Limerick, Joseph Monaghan, is aiming for Junk Kouture world glory following his top 12 finish in the national finals of the competition with their project, ‘Ransacked’.

A secondary school student at Newport College, Joseph says they were always “interested in fashion and modelling”, he said, “Always wanting to show up my character, but as a disabled person, there were always limited options of which I could partake in.”

As part of the Transition Year programme, Joseph took part in the Junk Kouture competition, putting his talents on display.

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He said, “I have now won the national finals and managed to secure a place in the top 12 in Ireland for the world final of the competition with my design, Ransacked, which is a couture outfit inspired by Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors and their battle wear as I have always been intrigued with history and historic silhouettes to try and translate this into a final piece was a challenge to say the least.”

The outfit is made entirely out of recyclable materials, including coffee sacks from the Old Barracks Roastery in Birdhill, Nespresso coffee pods from Brown Thomas in Limerick, and his own bedsheets. He added, “It was also important for me to use coffee as a natural dye to keep things cohesive and sustainable.”

Joseph’s design and sewing journey started during his work experience with Limerick School of Art and Design, saying this is where he first encountered sewing, “Not knowing the journey of which I would embark on.”

He said, “When I first realised I could not use a domestic sewing machine, as per the thickness of the bags, I sought out the help of my neighbour, Grannie Glynn, a fellow Limerick fashion designer, who lent me her industrial sewing machine for the project.

Describing the outfit, Joseph said, “The outfit is divided into several pieces: the underneath suit, made from the jute coffee sack; the cape over top, with a base of bedsheet and over 3,000 hand-sewn Nespresso pods; and the hat, with a chicken wire base and bedsheet/curtain lining over top. The full outfit is made with a mix of hand and machine sewing.”

Speaking about the “surreal” experience of booking a spot in the world finals, Joseph said the experience has been more than they could have imagined, saying, “Earning a place in the world final was surreal,  whatever I accomplished had already come back to me in the form of life long friendships and creative partners so it was an incredible added bonus especially to see the hard work coming to fruition.

“I have been fortunate enough to gain many opportunities to show my work since the national victory, including my next endeavour. This coming September, I have been invited to speak at the Volcano Summit in Guatemala to represent Junk Kouture. This will be a momentous occasion, and I am ecstatic, as this journey is turning out to be bigger than my wildest dreams.”

Sharing their gratitude for the competition, Joseph says they are looking forward to the future and where their talents may take them. He said, “I am eternally grateful to the Junk Kouture competition, and fascinated that my creativity can take me to these heights, allowing me so many stages to showcase my art and creativity to the world, and it is something I hope to continue. I can’t wait to see where else this journey takes me.”