King’s Ely student’s designs shine in international fashion competition

A talented King’s Ely student and young fashion designer has been invited to showcase her creations at next year’s Cracow Fashion Week.

Katie Wood, 17, will be exhibiting some of her work at Cracow Fashion Week 2021 after achieving second place in this year’s fiercely contested Polish Talent Support International Fashion Competition, organised by the Polish-American Fashion Foundation and Cracow School of Art and Fashion Design.

Katie, who lives in Ely and who is in Year 13, says she is "thrilled and amazed" to have come second in the competition. She said: “I am thrilled and amazed to have been awarded second place in the competition, especially as I was competing against already established creatives worldwide. As part of the prize, I am invited to present my designs at Cracow Fashion Week in 2021 and to have my collection profiled on various fashion websites in Poland. I am always seeking out new opportunities and challenges to extend my Art and Design abilities. I am half-Polish and grew up in Warsaw, so I maintain a keen interest in Poland’s vibrant fashion scene.”

In June, Katie was one of three King’s Ely students selected to exhibit some of their fashion designs in the Young Norfolk Arts Festival – a virtual exhibition to celebrate the work of young artists and designers from across the region. Paige Newell, also in Year 13, and John-Oswald Crichton, who is in Year 12, also starred in the exhibition.

Katie has also been putting her creative skills to good use during the lockdown period by making beautifully patterned cotton face masks. She not only made masks for family and friends to wear when they are out and about, but she also donated piles of them to Orchards Care Home in Ely and Waitrose & Partners in Ely for their staff to wear.

Katie, who has been a student at King’s Ely since joining King’s Ely Junior in Year 5, said: “As the crisis was developing, like many others, I felt quite helpless. Making masks was a way to use my skills and resources to try and make a small difference in my local community from home. Additionally, staying creative and setting a goal outside of school work has helped me get through this difficult period. Meeting the staff at the Orchards Care Home and the team at Waitrose was really gratifying, and a great opportunity to thank the people working so hard for others.”

The Art Department at King’s Ely is a thriving, inspiring environment where all students are encouraged to engage fully with the state-of-the-art facilities available. The Department specialises in Fashion and Textiles, Fine Art, Sculpture and Photography, and students realise ambitious outcomes, regularly achieving some of the highest exam marks in the country. In 2018, King’s Ely also won the Art and Craft Award at the prestigious Education Business Awards. To discover more about opportunities at King’s Ely, go to: www.kingsely.org