King’s Ely students get creative with global fashion designer

Award-winning fashion designer José Hendo visited King’s Ely to share her skills and expertise with Sixth Form students.

The exciting masterclass saw José working with A Level Fashion and Design students, helping them to create striking sculptural accessory designs using Barkcloth and Sinamay. The workshop proved an invaluable opportunity for the students to explore and develop new ideas, which resulted in a highly inventive range of headwear and neckwear designs being created.

Speaking about her visit to King’s Ely, José said: “All of the students had brilliant ideas and were ready to experiment. They took direction easily and worked diligently. It was a pleasure to spend the afternoon working with such well-mannered and gifted students.”

José is the go-to designer of Ugandan Royalty and Government officials, having designed for four Royal weddings so far. She is known for her prolific and cutting edge Barkcloth collection ‘Resonance’. The label promotes the use of eco-textiles, such as organic and recycled materials. It further supports ethical trading and raises awareness about the environmental issues affected by the fashion industry. Barkcloth was proclaimed by UNESCO as part of the world’s ‘Intangible Cultural heritage of Humanity’ in 2005.

José’s collection has featured at EcoLuxe London, London Fashion Week, Berlin Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and Kampala Fashion Week, as well as the Ugandan Museum to raving reviews.

Director of Art at King’s Ely Senior, Alison Rhodes, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome José to King’s Ely. Our students were really inspired and the headwear and neckwear designs created were truly stunning. We are all looking forward to working with José again in 2018.”