Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle with Denise McNamara

When art teacher Serena Slevin-Joyce had second year student Joshua Whelan in her class at Clarin College in Athenry for the year, she was determined to get him involved with a pet project.

Joshua has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Serena had the idea of getting him to model for a creation in Junk Kouture, which is the global fashion competition for students featuring outfits made exclusively from recycled materials.

Serena had herself competed in the equivalent of Junk Kouture when she was in Transition Year in St Brigid’s College in Loughrea. It left such an indelible impression that she decided to become an art teacher.

“Our outfit was a fairy made of old onion bags. Our poor model – there was no fancy face paint back then, we had purple dry powder that we used to paint her face. She worked in a supermarket and was still purple a week later. Oh, it was great fun. We came in the top 14 – it was a huge thing.”

Serena approached her TY student Leah Higgins about creating a very special design for Joshua.

The pair had gone to school together in Lisheenkyle and had a rapport. His condition means his muscles spasm so the outfit had to be completely adjustable and not come between his skin and the wheelchair. It also had to comfortably fit over his shin splints.

It was to be no easy task, explains Leah.

They came up with the idea of making Joshua into a Viking king, inspired by the fact both his parents came from Waterford.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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