A middle school versus art and professional high schools specialized in fashion. Three kids, a handful of recycled materials, and an idea as strong as the message it carries: fighting pollution with creativity. This is the challenge won by the Istituto Comprensivo di Monserrato, the only Sardinian school and the only lower secondary school to access the world finals of Junk Kouture, a sustainable fashion design competition.
The dress is called “Reborn” and has passed the national selection along with nine other models, out of forty finalists. It was created by Sara Frau, Edoardo Mameli and Alexander Argiolas, eighth grade students who transformed old newspapers, scraps of paper and cotton wool into a garment with a strong aesthetic and environmental impact.
The entire school – students, teachers, families and collaborators – gathered in the theatre on Via Monte Linas to watch the live broadcast of the awards ceremony. Applause, shouts and tears of joy at the announcement: Monserrato will fly to the World Final, scheduled for early 2026. The location is still unknown, but the excitement is already global.
The project was born in class, with Professor Carla Vargiu, together with colleagues Cristina Piras, Eleonora Pasquini, Andrea Salvai, Alessandra Giudice, Laura Ornano, Alessandra Crotti , but it moves on complex terrains: sustainability, reuse, environmental education. Reborn is an entirely gray dress, to evoke the smog of the cities.
The surfaces are covered with flakes of recycled paper, hand-cut one by one, to symbolize the wounds of the environment and the desire to rebuild.
The shapes become pointed, irregular, but the heart of the dress is a red rose that emerges on the chest: a sign of resistance and possibility. On the back, on the arms, on the skirt, the scales change shape and orientation, all facing upwards. Like an invitation to look beyond the gray air and imagine a clean future.
Even the accessories follow the same logic : a ruined bag recovered and reupholstered, unused shoes repainted, a cloud-hat made of cardboard and cotton colored with ash.
The trick? Black powder on the face, to simulate the smog that penetrates and marks.
The main material is handmade paper, obtained by mixing newspapers and documents that are no longer usable. After being blended in water and pressed, the sheets were dried on artisanal frames built by the students themselves. From there, the patient work: drawing, cutting, gluing, modeling.
The decorative roses were made with paper napkins and dies, the fan belt symbolically unites the shirt and skirt. Every detail was taken care of, but without losing the sense of the project.
The dress fits into the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda : health and well-being, sustainable cities, responsible consumption and the fight against climate change. In a single object, the story of a present to be corrected and of a future that is still possible. And in the meantime, the students of Monserrato are now waiting to reach the final.