Sri Lankan Craft: Northumbria’s Catwalk Award Winner Brings Rattan To The Runway
An Interview with the winner of Northumbria University’s GFW Catwalk Award 2026: Senuji de Silva
Senuji de Silva, originally from Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, and now a First Class Fashion graduate from Northumbria University won the Graduate Fashion Week Catwalk award for her university. Senuji talks through the creative process and how it always starts with research, “real, hands-on research, not just mood boards”. For her graduate collection SANDAPAYA, that meant travelling to Wewaldeniya, Sri Lanka's city of rattan, to source cane craft directly from artisans. She also worked with Selyn to develop handloom fabric. “I don't design from a distance.” Senuji explains, she emphasises her source, understands the material and the people behind it, then brings it into her collection.
What unexpected source influenced your final outcome?
“A wewal (rattan) chair. The cane chairs I used to sit in as a child became the starting point for turning a non-textile craft into a fashion piece. It wasn’t an obvious fashion reference, but that’s exactly why it mattered to me. I wanted to challenge myself to take something nobody would think to wear and find a way to make it wearable.”
What’s the best piece of creative advice you’ve ever received?
“Don’t wait for the big concept. Don’t try to think big from the start. The best advice I’ve had is to be inspired by the most basic thing, something small and ordinary, and work your way around it until you find what’s unique in it. That’s exactly how the wewal (rattan) chair became the heart of SANDAPAYA. It wasn’t a grand idea. It was a childhood memory I chose to take seriously.”
How would you describe your creative voice in three words?
“Technical, honest, resourceful.”
What kind of impact do you hope your work has beyond aesthetics?
“Sri Lankan craft is not folk art, and it’s not background texture. It’s sophisticated, living, and it deserves a seat at the table this industry has long refused to offer. I want SANDAPAYA to be part of that conversation, and I want people to see wewal (rattan) and handloom weaving as crafts with a future, not just heritage frozen in the past.”
Which designer, artist or creative would you most like to show your work to?
“Erdem. His work always tells a story rooted in history and personal memory, and he treats heritage with so much depth. I’d love for him to see SANDAPAYA and understand the family story behind it, and to hear what he’d make of turning something like a wewal (rattan) chair into fashion.”
What advice would you give to a student currently starting their final collection or portfolio?
“Just start. Don’t wait for the big moment. I still remember worrying I wasn’t creative enough and asking my lecturers what skills you actually need to become a designer. You don’t need extraordinary talent. You need passion, curiosity, dedication, and the courage to keep learning. Also, work a bit smarter than harder.”
What conversations do you hope your work starts?
“Conversations about who gets a seat at the table in global fashion. Every material decision in SANDAPAYA was an act of solidarity with makers whose skill and cultural knowledge remain chronically underrepresented in this industry. I hope people start seeing Sri Lankan craft as sophisticated and innovating, not as a background reference to borrow from.”
So what’s next for you after graduating?
“I want to build a career that connects both sides of my experience, the manufacturing knowledge I gained in Sri Lanka and the design training I got in the UK. Taking SANDAPAYA to Graduate Fashion Week 2026 already showed me what that combination can do. I was named Northumbria University’s Class of 2026 Catwalk Award winner, received a Highly Commended for the Surface Textiles Award, and was shortlisted across four categories in total: Culture and Heritage, Constructed Textiles, Surface Textiles, and the Hilary Alexander Sustainable Trailblazer Award. I later won the Catwalk Impact Award from Disturbia at Northumbria’s REVEAL show, and most recently received the Sree Mukhopadhyay-Sen Prize for Excellence in Sustainable Fashion Design 2026. Those milestones give me real confidence going into the next stage. Long term, I’d love to keep finding ways to bring Sri Lankan craft into global fashion, whether that’s through my own work or through the companies I end up working for.”
Awards & Recognition:
Northumbria University Class of 2026 Catwalk Award Winner
Graduate Fashion Week 2026 Highly Commended Surface Textiles Award
Graduate Fashion Week 2026 Shortlisted: Culture and Heritage Award, Constructed Textiles Award, Surface Textiles Award, Hilary Alexander Sustainable Trailblazer Award
Graduate Fashion Week 2026 Catwalk Impact Award
Disturbia x Northumbria REVEAL Show 2026
2026 Sree Mukhopadhyay-Sen Prize for Excellence in Sustainable Fashion Design
