A TEENAGER created a stunning ballgown – from 1,000 used crisp packets.
Alison Macrae, her family and neighbours, munched their way through an estimated 200,000 calories-worth of crisps to provide the “material”.
The high school pupil and budding fashion designer then modelled her creation against the background of Eilean Donan castle, near her home in Plockton, Ross and Cromarty.
The 17-year-old hopes the dress will win first prize in this year’s Junk Couture Scotland, a competition in which high school pupils make clothes from rubbish.
Alison and her family spent four months eating crisps and then assembling the dress from the packets.
Each packet was selected for its colour and then cut into a leaf shape before being attached to a plastic sheet, eventually creating a shimmering strapless gown.
Despite wolfing down every crisp flavour under the sun, the Plockton High pupil has remained a trim size six.
The top half of the dress is a corset made out of duct tape with silver crisp bag linings cut into shapes and stuck on to give a mirrored effect.
The skirt is red at the top, using ready salted packs.
It goes into stunning pink and purple using Prawn Cocktail and Worcester Sauce flavour packets before ending in a yellow and silver Cheese Quaver train.
She said: “It’s probably the opposite of healthy eating. I’m not sure if anyone’s put on weight as a result of it.
“I started it at the end of October and I finished it last week. I spent most of my lunchtimes working on it.”
Alison originally wanted to make a dress out of leaves but the rules of the competition insist on rubbish being used.
Explaining her inspiration, she said: “I saw a crisp packet on the ground one day and it had some water on it and lost its colour and looked like a leaf.”
Alison’s mum Margaret, 40, said: “She’s a very healthy girl but she’s been eating a lot of crisps the last few weeks. She wants to make a repair kit for it.
“My husband is a big crisp eater so it’s not been too difficult. We’ve been saving packets since October and we’ve had four families doing it. We’re all very proud.”
The Junk Couture Scotland recycled fashion final will take place at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall next Friday.
Kids from secondary schools around the country are taking part and judges include X-Factor panelist Louis Walsh.
On Thursday, pupils from Arran High School unveiled their entry – a frock made of teacake and caramel wafer wrappers.
Bosses at Tunnocks, in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, had donated them for the project.
