Welcome
CONTOUR FASHION at De Montfort University (DMU) has consistently maintained a global reputation for developing talented new generations of intimate apparel designers and communicators. The course celebrates its 78th year in 2025, and we are delighted, once again, to showcase our final year students. We produce outstanding graduates in Contour Fashion, who demonstrate refined aesthetic design skills and construction, technological excellence, innovation and trend awareness within the fields of lingerie, corsetry, swimwear, nightwear, loungewear, menswear, sportswear, athleisure and medical applications. This is supported by wider affiliations with industry partners with an alignment to sustainability, underpinning multiple industry skills. By nurturing their talent and creativity, we encourage our students not only to meet expectations, but to challenge and exceed them. We are proud to liaise with major international companies, and our graduates are employed across the globe, as designers, technical specialists and communicators. The list of companies is extensive and includes Lounge, Stretchline, Adidas, Aura, Bluebella, Bordelle, Boux Avenue, Bravissimo, Coco de Mer, Concepts Paris, Coutille, Crystal International Group Limited, Curvy Kate, Gainway International, Gymshark, House of CB, Hunkemoller, Inqube, Jenny Packham, Mal Amore, Mars, Marks & Spencer, Mizelle, N.Brown, Naturana, Next, Odd Muse, Oh Polly, Panache Lingerie, Pour Moi, Primark, Puma, Shadowline, Skims, Starkers Group, Studio Pia, Sweaty Betty, Tommy Hilfiger Amsterdam, Wacoal. Entrepreneurship is also encouraged with some graduates establishing their own brands, including Nichole de Carle, Karolina Laskowska and Elissa Poppy.
For 2024-25, there were Industry External Client projects across all year groups, namely Sweaty Betty, John Lewis and Lounge Underwear for first, second and third years respectively, in addition to a Karen Millen project for both first and second year students. This is unprecedented, and the liaison provides a wonderful awareness of project progression and development for all. The students are encouraged to engage on multiple levels with industry members, across primary research developments and on into 2-3D resolution. We continue to reach out to the wider industry to support visits to the University and to secure extended associations with the cohorts, which benefit them greatly as they progress into the world of employment.
The class of 2025 have demonstrated resilience, enthusiasm and consistent endeavour. Throughout their studies, they maintained their innate determination to achieve, producing outstanding results. We, as a staff team, are immensely proud. The level of skill is profound and is attributable to their rich understanding of progressive innovation, originality, 2D Design and refined construction skills.
On behalf of our students graduating from the Contour Fashion BA (Hons) course for 2025, we are truly delighted to showcase their incredible inspiration and creativity.
RACHEL TONER BA (HONS) MA(RCA) FHEA Programme Leader
LOUNGE UNDERWEAR – PLATINUM SPONSOR We are once again honoured and delighted to have Lounge as a Platinum sponsor for 2025. Lounge have partnered with us for the last four years, supporting the final year within an External Client project, which has been a great success. We thank them for their continual unwavering support of our students and the programme.
“Celebrating a Year of Achievements!
Congratulations to the 2025 Contour Fashion graduates! Each year, we have the privilege of witnessing the remarkable talent emerging from DMU’s renowned course — and this year has been no exception. The originality, technical precision, and sheer determination shown by this cohort have once again raised the bar.
Partnering with such driven and passionate individuals continues to be an incredibly rewarding experience for us. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your journey — we can’t wait to see what the future holds for each of you. Here’s to continued success, innovation, and another exciting year ahead!
“
STRETCHLINE – PLATINUM SPONSOR We are once again delighted to have Stretchline as Platinum sponsors for 2025. They have been consistent supporters of the Contour Fashion course and their generosity in sharing with students technically aligned, future focussed information appertaining to global industrial developments are so welcomed. We hope to continue with this collaboration for years to come.
“Now in its 78th year, the Contour Fashion Show continues to spotlight the future of contour design, and we’re proud to play a part in that journey.
As long-standing platinum sponsors, our collaboration with DMU is built on shared values: creativity, innovation, and a drive to challenge what’s next. At Stretchline, we’re inspired by bold thinking and fresh perspectives, and this year’s graduates deliver both with confidence.
To the graduating class, your work inspires. Keep pushing boundaries. Keep shaping the future.
“
NAYOMI - PLATINUM SPONSOR We are delighted to secure the support of Nayomi as our Platinum Sponsor this year and extend our sincere thanks for their commitment to nurturing future talent. Their generous liaison in welcoming Contour Fashion placement students has created valuable opportunities for hands-on industry experience. We are excited to build on this new relationship and look forward to a continued partnership that supports a steady stream of emerging designers into this dynamic, future-facing company.
“It’s with genuine pride and joy that Nayomi joins this year’s Contour Fashion Show as a Platinum Sponsor. Nayomi is the leading lingerie and nightwear retailer in the Middle East. This marks our first official partnership with De Montfort University, but our connections here are based on almost 2 decades of recruiting DMU alumni. These talented DMU graduates secure creativity, technical skill, and passion and have helped to shape the heart of our brand. Without doubt, the talent that comes from DMU is exceptional and world class. That is one of the many reasons we wanted to be more involved and why we chose to support the next wave of visionary designers who are at the beginning of their career path.
We are truly honoured to play a small part in their journey at such a pivotal moment. To witness their dedication, originality, and fearless creativity is both inspiring and deeply moving. At Nayomi, we believe in nurturing talent and celebrating the art of design—and we can’t wait to see how these graduates will shape the future of our industry. Here’s to the class of 2025—may this be the first step in a remarkable journey ahead.
HYOSUNG - BRONZE SPONSOR. For the first time we are delighted to have Hyosung as a Bronze Sponsor. Claire O Neill, Director of European Brand Marketing – Textiles, has been a consistent supporter of the course and has enhanced the students’ understanding of technology and fabrication, textile manufacture and future facing developments within the global textile industry currently. We look forward to a rich and lasting liaison.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS “ “
Hyosung congratulates all the 2025 graduates from Contour Fashion! Your creativity, passion, and dedication to contour design demonstrate that the future of our industry is in brilliant hands. Hyosung is delighted and proud to support this showcase and excited for all that lies ahead in your journey through textiles and design.
Claire O Neill Director of European Brand Marketing – Textiles
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HIGHLIGHTS
Student achievements and industry collaborations and industry collaborations
COLLECTIONS
Class of 2025 Final Major Projects d industry collaborations
THANK YOU
Thank you and final words collaborations
HIGHLIGHTS 01 EXTERNAL CLIENT
FIRST YEAR:
Sweaty Betty
Sarah Platts - Winslow on the winner:
This year, we liaised again with Sweaty Betty via alumna Sarah Platts-Winslow, Performance Design Manager, setting a project to design an innovative and commercial collection of active/ sportswear contour outfits for AW 25/26, that promoted an inclusive culture where diversity is celebrated. This provided a complete foundation in the creative process relating to creative design. Sarah provided invaluable feedback to our students, encouraging and supporting them in the progression of their projects.
The Winner: Jennifer Borley Runners Up: Ebony Lawrence-Hall, Lauren Cousens, Melody Payne
The winner won the opportunity to shadow various members of the Sweaty Betty team (including design, development, print and colour, visual merchandising, and buying) over the course of 5 days at their HQ in Kings Cross, London, in addition to receiving a Sweaty Betty goody bag.
“Jennifer’s line up was absolutely beautiful; she expertly incorporated her research of anatomy and the natural world into her designs and created a unique but very wearable collection. We’re excited for her opportunity to shadow various members of the Sweaty Betty team at HQ and look forward to seeing where her design career takes her! Massive Congratulations to Jennifer!”
SECOND YEAR:
John Lewis
The JOHN LEWIS & PARTNERS design team collaborated with us on an engaging 2D promotional project that highlights themes of sustainability and innovation in a commercial context. As part of the project, students showcased their digital lookbooks to the client, offering a valuable platform to express their individual creative journeys with the benefit of thoughtful industry insight.
Mark Finerty, Category Design LeadSwimwear, Underwear & Nightwear, and Hayley Fischer, Swim/Beach Designer from John Lewis offered supportive and industry aligned feedback throughout, helping guide student work towards commercial design solutions aligned with professional standards.
The winner will receive mentorship throughout their final year projects from Mark Finerty, who will offer support and guidance as they progress their studies.
The winners of this project were:
First Place: Maria Espinosa-Sanchez First Place: Amirah Fazlanie
Second Place: Lucy Rose
Mark Finerty on the winners:
“ Maria showed a beautiful level of colour and a clear and consistent thought process throughout the project. She had beautiful inspiration and her presentation was slick, and visually captivating showing her theme clearly as it ran throughout the styling of her pages. An elevated and wearable commercial range that fits easily into our brand identity.
Amirah’s project showed a keen eye for exciting and dramatic print whilst using a lovely choice of both handdrawn and computer-drawn media. It was great to see both used to show the final range. Her inspiration was very strong, and this resulted in a dynamic and impactful final line-up that showcased her creativity and strength in print design. “
Amirah Fazlanie
Maria Espinosa-Sanchez
“ We are continually inspired by the commitment and creativity each student brings to their work. From concept to execution, your ability to push boundaries and explore new possibilities in design and development is truly impressive. It’s been a pleasure to see your ideas take shape and evolve into powerful, professional outcomes that reflect the bright future of the contour fashion industry.”
Emily Blount - Head of Product
Thom Smith, far right, (Senior Talent Acquisition Manager) and Angelica Sephton, far left, (Lead Product Designer and an alumnus of DMU Contour) supported the students with their presentations and awarded prizes.
EXTERNAL CLIENT
THIRD YEAR:
LOUNGE E
Lounge Underwear was established in 2015 and have DMU graduates amongst their creative and technical product design teams. The brand has a mission to deliver ‘Comfort Made Sexy’ with over 3.6 million followers currently on Instagram.
Lounge have supported DMU for a number of years via the External Client Project for our final year students. This took place through the Autumn term and ended in early February for 2024-5.
Julie Swinfield, Rachel Toner and Abbie Swinfield liaised with Emily Blount who is Head of Product (and a DMU Contour alumnus) and Georgia Perry (Head of People) for Lounge, to secure the project that allowed students to design and create product for Lounge within the areas of bras, intimates, sleepwear, swimwear and athleisure. Branding and sustainability, trend and innovative fabrications were also considered.
Thirteen finalists were invited to the brand’s HQ in Birmingham to present their collections and showcase their finished outfits, in addition to enjoying an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of their stunning office spaces.
It was a great experience for the students and the feedback they received was so encouraging and positive. We wish to thank Dan and Mel Marsden, the founders of Lounge, for their continued support and generosity in supporting De Montfort University Contour Fashion.
In addition, this year we were delighted to have the sponsorship and sampling support for this project from both Tian Hai Lace, who was represented by Harrison Tatem-Wyatt, and for the first time, Potencier Embroideries – supported by Corentin Potencier and Sylvie Newton. Their expertise was shared with the students and the liaison allowed for designs to be swiftly realised, which was a huge success.
First Place – Daisy Brown
Second Place – Jemima van Dijk
Third Place – Madi Mitchell
Commendations went to: Molly Roberts & Katrina Plowman
Daisy Brown
Jemima van Dijk
Madi Mitchell
MET GALA
First Place – Lucy Rose
Second Place - Katie Lewis
Third Place - Izzi Smith
Commendations went to: Lily Robins and Madeleine Massey
This second-year project continues to secure innate innovation and potential, intricately developed into a variance of contour products. This encourages freedom of choice regarding areas of intimates researched, supporting a wider creative spirit.
Final designs are showcased and judged by an industry panel, this year including Joanne Wickham and Katie Rhodes (Marks & Spencer), Luisa Sidoli (Tatu Couture Lingerie), Georgina Bibby and Tierney Stoneman (Next).
COLLABORATIONS
We are delighted to have the incredible support of both Tian Hai and, for the first time, Potencier, in sponsoring the students with lace and embroidery fabrics.
TIAN HAI have been a staunch supporter of this practice for a number of years as small metres of this form of fabric is very hard to secure, due to the minimum quantities produced.
Tianhai Lace Co. Ltd. are a leading lace producer who designs for the fields of intimates, ready-towear, bridal, sport, and athleisure, and are experts in warp knitting.
They are leading sustainable development and environmental protection and have become the first lace manufacturer partner in the Bluesign system; they also use mono -silicone solar panels to generate their own electricity (the Photovoltaic System). Harrison Tatem-Wyatt (the UK Agent) delivers historical and modern lace technicality to the students and has been instrumental in spearheading this support via sampling. This is such a vital part of our ability to encourage 2-3D development within the cohort.
Founded in 1883 in northern France, Maison Potencier swiftly specialized in creating embroidery for ready-to-wear (Louis Vuitton & Yves Saint Laurent being amongst the clients). With their unique craftsmanship, five generations have succeeded one another at the helm of the company and have also conquered the world of lingerie, becoming a leading European player in embroidery for this sector since the 1990s.
Corentin Potencier and Sylvie Newton visited the Contour studios and offered to develop students’ creative embroidery work, securing exclusive sampling that they could then use on their final collections. This was wonderful for all involved.
We are truly honoured to have this support from both companies and look forward to a rich and continuing liaison, hoping this partnership will inspire future developments with Contour students.
KAREN MILLEN
Karen Millen is a British fashion brand founded in 1981, which expanded to include stores and a global presence. The Debenhams group (formally known as the Boohoo group) acquired the company in 2019 transitioning the brand to become a purely on-line business. The company deliver high quality and diverse garments supporting women in all they do and celebrate diversity across the collections.
This year, for the first time, we liaised with Jess Ellis (Designer) and Som Kerdsiri (Designer) to secure the opportunity to work together on a special project with both our Level 4 and 5 students, supporting the company’s passion for lingerie, intimate’s and outerwear design.
The students were asked to research and select an area of focus from the KM wide product range, define a customer profile and design a new collection highlighting their passion for fitted garments and all elements fashion related.
The winners, (selected from both Level 4 and 5 separately) will have the opportunity to embark upon individual internship’s during the summer of 2025.
This is an exciting collaborative liaison in which students will learn directly from industry experts within the company, the process of creative ideas being developed into commercial design.
The winning students were:
Level 4 – Melody Payne
Level 5 – Amirah Fazlanie
We very much hope to continue these positive links next year and look forward to linking the company with our forthcoming new talent. We are delighted to have such super support from the Karen Millen team.
Amirah Fazlanie
Melody Payne
MA
WONDERLAND
Wonderland Partners with De Montfort University to Spotlight Emerging Talent
We are delighted to announce our exciting new collaboration with Wonderland. As part of this partnership, final-year students have been invited to submit pieces from their final collections, with five standout designs will be selected for exclusive display at the entrance to the July showcase of Wonderland, displayed within the London Sheraton Grand Hotel, alongside an array of established brand names within the intimates industry, 13-15 July.
Bok Goodall, who is the project manager of the show, and a great supporter of the Contour course, commented:
‘’This initiative reflects Wonderland’s ongoing commitment to celebrating fresh, innovative voices in the intimate apparel industry. The selected students will have their work presented on mannequins at the event entrance, providing an unparalleled opportunity for visibility among industry professionals, media, and peers.’’
Nicky Clayton and Lucy Osborne, co-founders of Wonderland, commented:
“We’re excited to be able to work with De Montfort. These students are the future of our industry and we hope this will act as a springboard into their chosen careers within the industry. It is important for us as a show to support emerging talent.”
POST GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES IN CONTOUR AT DMU
Post graduate study is a great way to develop new and specialised knowledge, gain valuable transferable skills and improve career prospects.
Did you know you can now study the Contour specialism at postgraduate level? At DMU we offer two specialist routes: Contour Fashion Innovation as Master of Arts (MA) to support creative, arts and social sciences based study, or as Master of Sciences (MSc) for development of science, technology or engineering based investigations into Contour.
Our team of expert tutors work closely with individuals to map their best-suited route across the year, considering skills mastery and career goals.
Find out more on our web page: dmu.ac.uk/ contourfashioninnovation
Get in touch for an informal chat or email any questions to: catherine.livingstone@dmu.ac.uk
Olivia Bodak
E:
I:@contour_bybelle
E: Amelialucy13@hotmail.com
I:@amelialucycontour
E: marajames@outlook.com
I:@marajames.design
I:@sophieclay.design
E:
I:@eves_designs_
E: daisycooper0810@gmail.com
I:@designedbydais
E: daisy@butlerbrown.co.uk
I:@daisy_contour
0 3 THANK
The Contour Fashion BA (Hons) graduates of 2025 would like to express thanks to the teaching staff and technical teams for their unwavering support, patience, and dedication throughout this year. An additional thank you to all of our specialised partners for their on-going support and generosity in nurturing the future of our industry: Lounge Underwear, Stretchline, Nayomi, Hyosung, Claire O’Neill, Harrison Tatem-Wyatt, Tian Hai, Corentin Potencier, Sylvie Newton, Lauren Smith, Emma Pake - Panache Lingerie, Pam Scott - Underlines Magazine, Concepts Paris, Bemis, Boselli, Boux Avenue, Carvico, Contour Specialist Fabrics, Crystal International Group Limited, Demi Summer Butterfield, F.Ciment Pleating, Fildan, Freya, Gainway International, John Lewis, M&S, MMG Models, Mollie Falkingham, Naturana, Nevs, Next, N.Brown, Sew Systems, Sian Revill, Tatu Couture, Wacoal, Jason Senior and Avidity Models.
Tutors and Technical team: Rachel Toner, Julie Swinfield, Laurie Truscott, Catherine Livingstone, Abbie Swinfield, Emma Rose, Buddy Penfold, Tracey Morris, Millie Fullalove, Jo Earl, Kelly McRobie, Jadzia Garrett, Chris Wright, Kinga Bochenska-Colinet, Alan Beattie, Carolyn Hardaker, Sam Dalby, Rob Jones, Sophie Ison-Dawson, Keira Allder, Alex Palmer, Graham Lee, Chris Ball, Michaela Hawes, Rob Leary, Ben Marlow, Peter Cástka, Anna Wang, Nigel Essex, Will Baker, Stuart Lambert and his wonderful team.
Brochure Design: Emma Swanepoel
Collation: Emma Swanepoel, Rachel Toner, Julie Swinfield, Abbie Swinfield, Laurie Truscott, Catherine Livingstone.
Photography: Jason Senior – Redpix photography jason@redpix.co.uk
Supported by : Peter Cástka - Technical Instructor (Video & Audio) & Alan Beattie (Programme Lead for FTXD, Associate Head Education – Fashion and Textiles)
Make-up and Hair: Siân Revill sianrev.makeup@gmail.com
Hair: Demi Summer–Butterfield demisummer.butt92@gmail.com
Models: Sandra Dziwiszek sandra_dziwiszek@hotmail.com
Jess Mara - London contatojessmara@gmail.com
UNDERLINES
Final words
“It is always a delight to see the final year graduates’ work with the level of professionalism, talent and creativity that they display and the ‘Class of 2025’ is no exception! The Contour Fashion Course at De Montfort University continues to deliver to its students a first-class and unequalled framework to succeed in their future careers. Having seen some of their project work this year we can see that the lingerie design and expertise is in safe hands for the future.
“
