Senuji de Silva

26 Aug

Written By Lucie Luke

Contact: hirunyase2003@gmail.com
University/School: Northumbria University
View Senuji’s website here

About me

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About me _____

I am Senuji de Silva, born and raised in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. My journey into fashion began almost by accident, when I visited an Open Day at the Academy of Design in Colombo while preparing for my A/Levels. That single visit changed the direction of my life. I left my A/Levels behind and enrolled in the Foundation Programme at AOD, unsure at first whether I was creative enough, but slowly learning that passion and persistence matter more than natural talent.

After studying Fashion and Textile Design at AOD and winning the Outstanding Creativity Award in 2022, I transferred to Northumbria University in the UK to continue my degree as an international student. It was only after leaving Sri Lanka that I began to truly appreciate my own culture. Being away from home pushed me to explore traditional textiles and craftsmanship in a way I never had before, and that exploration became the foundation of my design language.

Since then I have interned with Jenny Packham, Ingrid Kraftchenko, and Palmer//Harding in London, and worked on a project with Selyn in Sri Lanka that reconnected me with handloom weaving. My graduate collection, SANDAPAYA S/S 26, brought that heritage to Graduate Fashion Week 2026, where it was shortlisted for four national awards and I was named Class of 2026 winner. For me, fashion has always been about more than garments. It is about preserving stories, celebrating culture, and carrying forward the belief my parents had in me before I fully believed in myself.

Inspiration

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Inspiration _____

Turning Disappearing Sri Lankan Craft into Award-Winning Design

My graduate collection, SANDAPAYA S/S 26, is rooted in my own family history. My grandmother was raised within Sri Lanka's rigid Sinhala Kandyan upper class caste system, and she chose love over social expectation by marrying outside her class. That one act of courage created an entirely new generation, including me. The collection explores this idea of newness, and how a single brave decision can reshape a family's future, expressed through a fusion of Portuguese and Sri Lankan silhouettes.

The craft foundation of the collection came from working with Selyn, a Sri Lankan fair trade organisation, and from local wewal (cane weaving) artisans in Weweldeniya, many of whom were rebuilding their livelihoods after Cyclone Ditwah in late 2025. I developed handloom fabrics including a diamond twill in purple and beige inspired by the structure of woven cane, alongside a lighter silk plain weave. Working with these artisans was never just a sourcing decision. It was an act of connection and solidarity, and it meant that sustainability became part of the story itself rather than something added on afterward.

SANDAPAYA represents my family, my heritage, and the traditional craft industries of Sri Lanka that are slowly disappearing. Bringing Sri Lankan cane craft and handloom weaving to a platform like Graduate Fashion Week, alongside some of the most talented emerging designers in the UK, was one of the most meaningful moments of my journey so far.