People fall in love, plan fancy weddings, and get married in front of friends, family, and acquaintances all the time – only to file for divorce a few months or years down the road because the marriage has fallen apart. This happens more often than most people think, and 15-year old art student Demi Barnes is aware of it.

So when she was tasked to do a project for school, Demi decided that aside from being creative, she was also going to make a strong statement about divorce. The result is the wedding dress you see above that was crafted from divorce papers.

Demi explains: “Originally I was going to make it out of newspapers and magazines, but I thought using divorce papers was a lot more interesting. I think a lot of people rush into marriage quickly and then get divorced – it’s a statement.”

She added: “When I put it up on Facebook, it was just to show my cousin in Italy what I’d been up to. Within a week, it had over 40,000 hits and people were approaching me to design their wedding dresses. I’m passionate about fashion and design and am hoping someone will approach me with a work experience placement so I can turn my passion into a career.”

I think it’s safe to say that people heard her statement loud and clear.

[via Policymic via Fashionably Geek]