Brenda Kuoh, design process

Brenda Kuoh first conceived the idea behind her collection whilst interning at the Mary Katrantzou studio which was loaded with jewels of different sizes, shapes and colours in preparation for the upcoming London Fashion Week. “It looked as if someone had just broken into the place!” The movie Ocean’s 8 inspired her to develop the jewellery heist concept further, incorporating the movie’s modus operandi and varied character personalities into her designs.

Hidden pockets, (intentional) embellishments and functional tools - rope, cable ties and nets are subtly woven into garment designs, walking the fine balance of being show stopping but not raising suspicion. In this collection, Brenda manufactured most of her textiles from scratch using different methods. She weaved diamonds into net to create her own fabric as well as tying the recycled ropes and cable ties together to form a dress and, her collection is fully embellished with different sizes of pearls and diamonds.

Brenda has also designed balaclavas encrusted with diamonds and four different bags for different occasions to further portray the heist idea. Brenda’s use of sustainable material like recycled rope as well as her passion for making her own textiles, which can be seen in her collection has awarded her as the winner of the Ravensbourne Advocate Award 2019 sponsored by ENGIE.