King’s Ely students pick up tips from fashion designer Jennifer Sturrock

Fashion and Textiles students from King’s Ely are brimming with new ideas following an exciting visit to London’s Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum.

A group of Year 11 students got to work with designer Jennifer Sturrock during the trip to the leading museum of art and design. Jennifer is a designer, educator and writer within the realms of research, public engagement and creative facilitation. Working in a diverse range of environments, her background in Fashion and Textile design has led to programme design, development and communication within the arts. She now specialises in design process, creative direction, editorial content and brand experience.

The workshop activity at the V&A Museum involved students carrying out research in the exhibition, entitled ‘Fashion in Nature’, followed by a masterclass where they produced sculptural garment designs exploring new methods of construction. Group and one-to-one discussion supported this exciting development of ideas.

Director of Art at King’s Ely, Alison Rhodes, said: “This was a valuable opportunity to work with a successful designer. Jennifer said she felt our students were highly skilled, enthusiastic designers and that they were not afraid to take risks with the garments they produced. They worked in a professional manner throughout the day and their outcomes were extremely inventive, showing both strength and determination.”

During the visit, students also saw the temporary exhibition, ‘Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up’, which tells the story of the Mexican artist’s life through more than 200 of her personal artefacts and clothing, many of which haven’t been displayed outside of her home country before.

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. Specialist teachers encourage adventurous creativity and pupils realise ambitious outcomes.

The Department specialises in Fashion and Textiles, Fine Art, Sculpture and Photography, and this summer King’s Ely won the Art and Craft Award at the prestigious Education Business Awards in London, which recognise schools for improving the standard of education and the life chances of their students.

To discover more about opportunities at King’s Ely, please visit: www.kingsely.org.