FCAHS Art Teacher Chosen for Junk Kouture Advisory Board

Fox Chapel Area High School art teacher Joan Marangoni was selected to serve on the first-ever U.S. Junk Kouture Teacher Advisory Board. She is one of only six educators from across the nation who will serve on the board for the 2025-2026 school year. She was selected for being “an influential and passionate Junk Kouture Educator.” The board members will meet several times throughout the year to build a collection of feedback and published pieces that support the work of Junk Kouture.  

Junk Kouture is an international sustainable fashion competition open to students aged 13-19, challenging young people to create high-fashion designs from 100% recycled materials. The creations showcase the creativity, innovation, and environmental consciousness that drive the next generation of change-makers. Junk Kouture Operations Ireland Ltd. organizes the competition and is the largest sustainable fashion competition for young people.

During the last few years, Mrs. Marangoni and Fox Chapel Area High School art teacher Christine Smith have worked with several students who have made it to the Junk Kouture national competition and World Finals. This school year, seniors Raina Guzman and Claire Conti qualified for the national contest and have qualified for worlds. During the 2023-2024 school year, sophomores Lily McLaughlin and Ayla Ojanen made it to the national finals and then qualified for the world competition, which took place in Dublin, Ireland. Lily and Ayla, now seniors and helped by senior Katie Siddons, also qualified for nationals this current school year. The first year a Fox Chapel Area student competed was during the 2022-2023 school year, when senior Marley Pistella (Class of 2023) qualified for the national competition.