Granard student wins national title at Relove Fashion Competition

Longford student came out tops among 19 finalists

Ella Mulligan from Cnoc Mhuire Secondary School in Granard has been crowned the Overall Winner at the Relove Fashion Competition Final.

The Longford student came out tops among 19 finalists at the sustainable competition which was open to all secondary school students in the Eastern, Midlands and Dublin region. Longford County Council is one of 10 local authorities involved, along with the Rediscovery Centre, Ireland’s National Centre for the Circular Economy.

This year Longford emerged victorious with Ella Mulligan from Cnoc Mhuire, Granard awarded the overall prize. Her outfit is made from an old wardrobe cover, her dad’s old jeans, pearls from an old bracelet and old shoes.

Ella also did great research into the fabrics of the items she used to create her outfit. For example, denim has a huge environmental impact as it leads to the pollution of local waterways from the dyes used. Cotton requires a lot of chemical pesticides and she tie-dyed her skirt yellow with turmeric.

She was assisted by Cnoc Mhuire Secondary School art teacher Charmaine Hetherton.

Ella points to other young people being more conscious of their spending, with kilo sales of vintage or second-hand clothes becoming more popular.

Longford County Council Environmental Awareness Officer Gary Brady says the competition is a wonderful way to generate environmental awareness in the school-going generation. “I’d like to congratulate Ella and her teacher Charmaine Hetherton at Cnoc Mhuire in Granard on their achievement – it’s great to see the work of a local school being recognised at the Grand Final.”