I’m Senuji de Silva, a fashion graduate from Northumbria University specialising in pattern cutting. I’ve always believed that creativity works best when it’s bound by method and precision. Personally, the true craft of design lies in its technical details, such as pattern cutting, experimental textile construction, and digital tools. I appreciate artistic concepts, but I’m more drawn to the methodology of how things are made and how ideas can take shape through technique. I completed a six-month marketing and technical internship at MAS Holdings in Sri Lanka and have collaborative project experience with Brandix and Crystal Martin. I have also done 3 internships in the UK with Ingrid Kraftchenko, palmer//harding and Jenny Packham. Ever since I came to the UK, I started appreciating my culture more than ever, and I’ve started incorporating exotic elements of my culture into my art as a way of paying homage to my family and country. SANDAPAYA සඳපාය S/S 26 is rooted in a real family story: my grandmother, raised in Sri Lanka's rigid caste system, chose love over convention by marrying outside her class, and that rebellious act created an entirely new generation. Supported by Foucault's theory of heterotopia, spaces exist outside societal norms. I explore this "newness" through a fusion of Portuguese and Sri Lankan silhouettes. Non-textile crafts like wewal/ cane work alongside handloom ground the collection in both heritage and sustainability. Voluminous, structured silhouettes, inspired by the Nilame Kit and European tailoring, define the collection, with a nostalgic colour palette drawn directly from my great-grandparents' home. Among the highlights of this journey was the incredible opportunity to be mentored by a senior designer at River Island. I am also deeply grateful to have been nominated for several prestigious awards at Graduate Fashion Week, including the Culture and Heritage Award, the Surface Textile Award, the Constructed Textile Award, FACE Excellence, and the Hilary Alexander Sustainable Trailblazer Award. I got highly commended for the Surface Textile Award and won the Northumbria University Catwalk at the Graduate Fashion Week 2026.