TRANSITION TIMES: Anti-war messages, a farewell to smoking, global warming, corporate greed, stress in the workplace and the pressure to have sex - just some of the themes that will sashay down the catwalk in the Point, Dublin, on April 21st.

Transition Year students have rolled out another batch of high concept fashion statements for the Coca-Cola Form and Fusion Design Awards.

Some of the ideas are startling in their complexity, but it's not all about the great idea. Execution is everything, and the fashionistas must be wowed by the winning look. The 35 finalists in this year's competition have created some modern museum pieces and revealed in the process some of their darkest concerns and the deepest stirrings of the imagination. The Coca-Cola Form and Fusion Design Awards is the largest innovative educational schools-based competition in Ireland, open to all post-primary students between 15 and 18 years old, with the aim of empowering teens to "unleash their creativity in a nurturing and supportive environment".

The awards began with six costumes in a classroom exercise in 1998. Art teacher Aidine O'Reilly wanted to add an extra dimension to the Transition Year experience of her students, who were asked to design a creative costume made from waste materials. Having witnessed the enthusiasm of her own students, the programme was extended to nine schools the following year.

"The fusion of ideas, materials, techniques and talent invariably produces inspiring and memorable costumes made from recycled materials," says O'Reilly, who is no longer a teacher but works full-time on the nationwide competition.

"All of the costumes created are inspired by issues and events that participants feel are relevant to them. Themes range across all aspects of life today from joy-riding and drug abuse to the role of the media in modern Ireland. It's the decision of students to choose what they feel is the most relevant costume for them to present."

Fashion is just the starting-point for this learning experience, O'Reilly maintains. The real value lies in the process.

"Working in small teams to develop the students' ideas builds their confidence - their designs can take months to be developed into a final creation and it's an ongoing process of discussion, suggestions, trial and error," she says.

In 2000 Coca-Cola became a partner in Form and Fusion, and the awards were given a new impetus. This is the seventh year of the awards and sees the grand final move to the Point. Participation numbers have significantly increased and this year 354 schools took part, with 12,774 students and 708 teachers involved in the development of 1,210 costumes. The gender breakdown is starting to balance out too, with about 35 per cent male participation this year.

Tanya Twyford Troy is an art teacher at Stratford College in Rathgar, Dublin, and her pupils have created a lavish representation of the polar icecaps melting - a comment on the effect of global warming on the landscape. This is the first year that Stratford College has taken part in Form and Fusion and she is determined to make it an annual feature of the Transition Year programme.

"There was no room in the timetable for this programme this year, so the students did it on their own time," she says. "They enjoyed the experience so much that they gave two hours every day after school for four months - that's a testament to their commitment. The whole class got involved and every subject from photography to home economics to art was employed. It created a really positive buzz throughout the school. First years are already planning their Form and Fusion entry for Transition Year. Teamwork, active learning, blending disciplines - this is exactly what Transition Year is all about."

Her students agree. Heather Grey has given approximately 150 hours of her own time to this project, voluntarily, since mid-September. "It took a few weeks to decide on the concept," she explains. "We had to go through a lot of arguing, which then became negotiation, and finally agreement. Once we were all focused on the same idea, we had to try out lots of different materials. We had some fantastic ideas that simply didn't work in the end so we had to go back to the drawing board. Every aspect of this has been enjoyable, from dreaming up the idea to building it to choreographing the final exhibit. What started as a bunch of people arguing over ideas became a real team effort."

The only male on this particular team, Mitchell Murray, found himself heavily involved in material sourcing.

"I spent a lot of time searching out materials for the costume, many of which had to be abandoned," he says. "However, everything we used was reclaimed or recycled, so nothing went to waste. The final product, Glaciesse, is a comment on the future of our environment and we have used all kinds of discarded materials from broken CDs and mirrors to toothpicks and ice bags."

Tickets for the final of the Coca-Cola Form and Fusion Design Awards on April 21st are available from Ticketmaster (081- 8719300).