Students' innovative lingerie designs Wow industry bosses

08 Dec '10

4 min read

Students of De Montfort University's (DMU) unique Contour Fashion degree have wowed leading lingerie industry bosses with their innovative design ideas which will NOW go on display in Paris in the spring.

Second year students on the BA (Hons) Contour Fashion course at DMU in Leicester have won prizes courtesy of component manufacturers, Fildan Accessories for their designs incorporating the company's revolutionary new hook and eye fastening technology.

A selection of the students' work and the winning designs manufactured as garments for show on the Fildan Accessories stand at leading lingerie show, Interfilière Hong Kong – Mode Lingerie, March 30.31. 2011 in Hong Kong.

DMU is the only institution in the world offering specialised courses in the design and construction of bras and contour garments.

Course leader Gillian Proctor, senior lecturer Rachel Toner and technical lecturer David Morris were responsible for overseeing the design brief, the outcome of which contributes to the students' degree assessments.

Fildan Accessories are one of the most innovative companies worldwide involved in manufacturing plastic fasteners and small components and recently developed a new metal-free hook and eye fastening made from a combination of injected and microfibre elements.

The students were challenged with a competition brief to design and create innovative applications for Fildan's new, patented Butterfly Hook and Eye closing system. This is the first real alternative to metal hook and eye components developed by the lingerie industry for over a century.

Initial design boards presented by second year students form both Contour Fashion and Fashion & Contour design courses were shown by Fildan on their stand at 'Interfiliere', the Paris lingerie & swimwear trade show in September. This led to an expansion of the brief to take the new fastening to another level.

The three winning designs put forward by DMU students encompassed a wide range of applications from lingerie and swimwear, to maternity apparel and footwear.

Winning first prize for her 'Mama Amore Maternity and Nursing Range' designs was Sarah Cordery, 19, from Ipswich, who utilised Fildan's component as part of her supportive maternity creations “offering modern styling and exciting prints, whilst fulfilling the practical requirements of a nursing bra for new mothers.”

Sarah said: “My design incorporated unique aspects, and due to the versatile yet structurally sound design, the bra could be graded up to plus sizes, something also not catered for in feminine nursing wear.”

Sarah won an Apple MacBook which was presented to her at DMU by Gerhard and Mary Fildan, owners of Fildan Accessories and Malcolm Ball, Fildan's representative in the UK.

The two runners up, Elena Felby and Hannah Thomas were each awarded an Apple ipad for their excellent answers to the brief.

Elena Felby,19, from Gloucester, built Fildan's hook and eye fastening into the design for two swimsuits, both of which allowed adjustments to be made to the garment.

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