Junk Kouture has announced $1m in seed funding to accelerate its international roll-out into five new markets - New York, London, Paris, Milan and Abu Dhabi.
June Kouture challenges secondary students to create outfits made from waste and recycled material.
The Junk Kouture team has grown from five to 25 in 2021 and it has completed ten tours across Ireland and the UK.
This latest seed funding of $1m values Junk Kouture at $12m.
It said the funding included participation from an assortment of influential executives who support Junk Kouture's vision to enrich and empower the lives of young people, across the world, through creativity and sustainability.
Junk Kouture also plans to launch in a further seven new markets - Tokyo, Sydney, Cape Town, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Los Angeles - in 2022.
It aims to build a global tour of 13 markets across six continents feeding into a world final in 2023.
It said this world final promises to be the "Eurovision" for fashion, and will celebrate the culture and creativity of the world's youth - all through sustainability.
Troy Armour, CEO and founder of Junk Kouture, said the platform is empowering the next generation of creators and change-makers through creativity and fashion.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic has given Junk Kouture 18 months to reflect on its ambition to scale across the world, reimagine its event digitally, and afford it an easier route to market, in that everyone, including schools, became more receptive to digital meetings.
"Before long we were hosting webinars for schools in the US and Europe without needing to travel to these markets. We have built an incredible team to help us achieve our ambitious roadmap and this seed funding will be used to accelerate the grassroots outreach in the first five cities," he added.
