Earlier this evening, the Junk Kouture Dublin City final returned to Dublin as a live show for the first time since 2020.

Judges Louis Walsh, Soulé, Roz Purcell, and fashion designer Stephen McLaughlin were on hand in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre to choose the top designs to go forward to the first ever Junk Kouture World Final in Abu Dhabi later this year.

Speaking on the judging process, singer Soulé said: "It was such a tough decision whittling down the 60 designs to just nine, the standard of these designs absolutely blew us all away."

The Junk Kouture World Final In the end, after careful deliberation, the judges chose nine creations by teenage designers from around the country to represent Ireland at the first ever Junk Kouture World Final.

Click through the gallery above or scroll below to see the winning designs.

These nine finalists (plus the RTÉ Wildcard) will compete against 50 other designs from each of the other city finals: London, Paris, Milan, New York and Abu Dhabi.

From there, a lucky winner will be crowned the first ever 'Junk Kouture World Designer of the Year'.

The show will be filmed live and will be broadcast 19th May on RTÉ2 at 7.00pm.

RTÉ Wildcard All hope is not lost for the other Dublin City finalists who didn't make it into the top nine, as RTÉ 2FM's Tracy Clifford revealed there was still a RTÉ Wildcard spot up for grabs.

Tune in to watch the broadcast of the Dublin City Final Highlights show on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Thursday 19th May at 7pm and then head to rte.ie/junkkouture to discover which five designs have been chosen by the judges to compete for the coveted RTÉ Wildcard place at the World Final.

A public vote will open immediately after the broadcast on 19th May for the audience at home to vote for their favourite.

The tenth design to represent Ireland at the World Final will then be announced live on RTÉ 2FM's Tracy Clifford Show in June.

The nine finalists Without further ado, and in no particular order, the nine designs heading for the World Final are:

'Bohemian Pampas Tree’ by Clodagh Ramsey (model) and Dimo Tate of Wilson’s Hospital School, Co Westmeath. This living dress requires daily water, air and light and is made from pampas grass, moss and black grass.

‘Tale of Two Pods’ by Kate Molloy (model), Eimear Keenan and Samantha Irwin of Moate Community School, Co Westmeath, made from 3,000 coffee pods, a broken umbrella, old heels and an old Debs dress.

‘Back to the Future’ by Joshua Osabuehien and Solomon Eduard (model) of Cnoc Mhuire, Co Longford, a futuristic coat of armour against climate change made from an old laundry basket, car wipers, and an old shower mat.

‘Acantha’ by Genevieve Keane of Ursuline Secondary School, Tipperary inspired by the story of St Patrick and made from potato sacks, curtains, wool and old carpet.

‘Ode to Joy’ by Maha Shahzadi (model), Jadine Keane-Fitzpatrick and Somaia Anwari of Coláiste Nano Nagle, Limerick, inspired by the European Green Deal and made from tinfoil, bedsheets and old rope.

‘Black Swan’ by Sky Synnott of Mount Sackville Secondary, Dublin inspired by the story of the Ugly Duckling and made from old raincoats, pillows, duvet covers and hangers.

‘Minima’ by Alison Dalton, Emma Touhy and Orlaith McNamara of Scoil Chríost Rí, Portlaoise, Co Laois, made out of over 100,000 tiny Styrofoam beads found in an old beanbag chair and inspired by designer Zac Posen.

‘On Pointe’ by Orlagh White and Emma Connolly of Borrisokane Community College, Co Tipperary promotes the revival of old Irish craftsmanship, using weaving, knotting and threading techniques and is made from bulrushes and feathers.

‘Queen of Cutlery’ by Hannah Potts and Louise McChesneys of Monaghan Collegiate, Co Monaghan, made with metal forks, knives and spoons.

Tune into the Junk Kouture Powered by RTÉ Dublin City Final highlights show on Thursday 19th May on RTÉ 2.

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