Inverness Royal Academy pupil faces delay in showcasing her ball gown made from childhood trampoline at UK final of Junk Kouture after event was postponed

An Inverness teenager due to showcase her ball gown in a global sustainable fashion competition will have to wait a while longer after the event was postponed due to coronavirus.

Órla Ní Eadhra has won a place in the UK final of Junk Kouture with her creative design, Jumping For Joy, fashioned from recycled materials including a trampoline damaged in a storm, an old bicycle wheel and chocolate wrappers.

The 17-year-old Inverness Royal Academy pupil created the outfit on her sewing machine at home in the Drummond area. Along with the other finalists, she was set to take to the stage this month at the Hackney Empire Theatre to compete for a place in the world final where 50 designs will be showcased.

But the organisers said that due to unforeseen circumstances, involving a number of positive Covid-19 cases across its touring team, it had made the difficult decision to postpone its upcoming shows in London, Paris, Milan, New York and Abu Dhabi.

In a statement, it said: “This difficult decision was made out of an abundance of caution to protect our touring personnel, the Junk Kouture participants and attendees.

“We will re-engage with all of our partners and participants in the coming weeks to determine the rescheduling, timing and format of these events later in the year.

“Our live world final will go ahead as planned, and we will confirm all new dates once we have worked through availability and scheduling.

“We remain committed to the delivery of our city finals in each market, and we thank everyone who has worked with us up until this point and look forward to seeing you at the re-scheduled events, celebrating the work of creative young people.”

Órla said: “It’s a shame that it’s postponed but this gives me more time to prepare and build excitement!”

Watch: Ball gown created from recycled materials wins teenager place at final of fashion competition

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.