From Shenkar to Pentland UK

The Faculty of Design at Shenkar trains creative and talented graduates who achieve international recognition. This is reflected in the visits to Shenkar by designers from leading overseas fashion houses and companies to recruit talented graduates. One of them  is Katie Greenyer, the Creative Director of The Pentland Group, whose brands include KangaROOS, Lacoste, Red or Dead, Speedo , Elesse and Kickers

Greenyer scheduled a series of interviews with students in the Faculty of Design in order to scout for a "star" to participate in the company's program for young designers: The Pentland Design Talent Team.

Greenyer chose Menashe Ben-Yosef, who graduated this year from the Department of Fashion Design. Ben-Yosef designed his final project, inspired by the subject of "Man Machine," in an attempt to combine two worlds: robotics and the new wave of heavy rock. The goal of this project was to create a collection of smart street clothes for men – "Man Machine" – that incorporates the ambience and sophistication of his sources of inspiration.

In February, the successful designer, Ben-Yosef, will start working for 11 months in the Design and Development Department of one of the Pentland Group's subsidiary companies to develop a new brand, alongside a group of talented graduates recruited from design schools in England, from various disciplines.

Last year, Ran Mercazi, a graduate of Shenkar's Department of Industrial Design, participated in the Pentland program. During his stay at Pentland, he was involved in various projects: waterproof mp3 player, Speedo eyewear, and children's swim educational toys. Ran was recently informed that Pentland was interested in continuing to employ him as a designer in the group, and he joined the Speedo design team.

Greeyer notes: "It sometimes happens that certain graduates, such as Ran Mercazi, develop working relations and an identification with the brand and its values, and for this reason we tend to keep them on the group's design team." The group finances the first two months of living expenses in addition to wages.