Miss Mares: Using Creativity to Make Waves

For Junk Kouture designer Lucia, the story behind Miss Mares continues to make waves beyond the competition. Lucia recently collaborated with Save Our Sprat Bantry Bay, a community and environmental group based in West Cork campaigning for the protection of sprat, a small forage fish that plays an important role in the marine food chain. The group visited Elphin Community College, where they spoke with students about their campaign and screened Ocean with David Attenborough, a documentary exploring the importance of protecting and restoring our oceans. The connection came about through Junk Kouture and Lucia’s Miss Mares design - a design created with an important message at its heart. As Lucia explained in her recent Instagram post: “A design that highlights how we need to protect our oceans and stop overfishing.” Save Our Sprat is calling for a pause on sprat fishing while further sampling and research into the species can be carried out. Through the collaboration, Lucia had the opportunity to connect the message behind her design with a campaign working to raise awareness of marine conservation. It’s also a great example of how an idea developed through Junk Kouture can continue beyond the competition. A design can become a way to explore an issue, start conversations and connect with others who care about the same things. For Lucia, Miss Mares is doing just that - taking a creative idea beyond the design itself and continuing the conversation around protecting our oceans. Find out more You can find out more about Save Our Sprat Bantry Bay and their campaign through their social channels.