Sunmarke School, part of the prestigious Fortes Education group, proudly announces that its students Irmak and Thasmika have been crowned Young Designers of the Year at the prestigious Junk Kouture World Final 2024, a renowned youth fashion competition held at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. ‘Their breathtaking creation, ‘Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover’, an avant-garde couture outfit crafted entirely from recycled materials, impressed the international judges with its artistic innovation, sustainability and powerful storytelling’. Designed to challenge superficial judgments, the creation features an intricate layering of repurposed textures – including a salvaged swimming pool carpet, electrical wires, and plastic packaging – arranged to evoke the unfolding pages of a book. The outfit was showcased with an original performance that fused graceful ballet movements inspired by Swan Lake with the dramatic intensity of Black Swan, bringing the design’s message of inner depth versus outer appearance to life on stage.
A Journey of Creativity and Sustainability
Irmak and Thasmika’s journey to victory began in 2023 at Sunmarke School, where they enrolled in the Performance and Visual Arts Programme – a part of the school’s extensive Elective Programme that offers specialised creative pathways. Their design experiment falls under the Performance and Visual Arts Programme, a unique offering that allows artistically inclined students to get immersed in an arts-infused curriculum spanning music, theatre, visual arts, textile and design.
Although they had never crossed paths before, their shared passion for fashion, performance and sustainability brought them together. The duo met weekly in the school’s design studio to brainstorm, prototype and refine their concept. Their innovative design — a wearable costume that doubles as a stage performance —challenges societal assumptions by contrasting rough, recycled materials with the delicate fluidity of classical ballet and contemporary dance, symbolising the conflict between outward appearances and inner depth.
Transforming Waste into Wearable Art
Committed to sustainability, Irmak and Thasmika exhibited commendable presence of mind and sourced materials from discarded waste, including:
– An old swimming pool carpet, salvaged from their school’s waste area
– Electrical wires and cable ties, repurposed from their parents’ workplaces
– Plastic bags and packaging ties, creatively incorporated into the final design
Inspired by the elegance of ballet, particularly Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and the dark intensity of Black Swan, their avant-garde creation merged delicacy with power. The dynamic performance they choreographed – where graceful ballet poses met sharp, dramatic gestures – enhanced the storytelling element of the piece.
Global Recognition and an Unforgettable Triumph Irmak and Thasmika’s achievement highlights the impact of Sunmarke School’s Signature Programmes which empower students to develop their creative talents, explore innovative ideas and compete globally. Their success not only inspires their peers but also underlines the school’s remarkable ethos of “Positive Education”, validating its approach to education and sustainability towards a brighter future.
