DMU Footwear Design BA (Hons) 2014 degree show book

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WELCOME De Montfort University Leicester is home to the only single honours Footwear Design degree within the United Kingdom, and year after year provides versatile, talented designers for the worldwide fashion, bespoke and medical industries. After studying three years of footwear, accessory and conceptual design, as well as all accompanying technical and creative aspects, De Montfort’s Footwear Design graduates exhibit their final collections at the annual Degree Show, taking place from Friday 13th June to Thursday 19th June. This exhibition showcases the very best of the students innovative design concepts as well as their portfolios, that will take them forward into their chosen areas of expertise within the relevant industries.

Heritage House 61 Southgates De Montfort University Leicester LE1 5RR United Kingdom www.dmufootwear2014.com

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Throughout their time at De Montfort University, the current third year students (the 2014 graduates) have achieved great academic success through competition briefs set by companies and industry professionals. In March 2012, Sophie Robinson and Zuzana Vitamvasova were shortlisted for the Kate Middleton competition, where students designed shoes for the Duchess of Cambridge, and the winner was chosen by her personally. March 2013 saw Stevie Leigh Cape, Alisa Kirkwood, Daniella Owen, and Zuzana Vitamvasova named as finalists for the GAP design competition. Alisa was chosen as the winner, and proceeded to spend 3 months working as an intern for GAP New York. Students then competed in The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers Bespoke Orthopaedic Design Award 2013, which is organised and tutored by Bill Bird Shoes. Bethany Conway, and Charlotte Lee were awarded joint 3rd place, Daniella Owen 2nd, and

Unn Inger Oreberg won 1st place for her innovative bespoke design concept. Unn and Daniella then went onto spend a week work experience with Bill Bird Shoes. The Biomechanics Design Award also took place in early 2013, organised and tutored

by Tim King and Cione Foot Care Services. Mallissa Russell was placed 3rd, Stevie Leigh Cape and Kirsty Lorna Procter joint 2nd and Tania Taris was awarded 1st place for her pioneering biomechanical concepts. The Spanish footwear brand El Naturalista set a design brief in summer 2013, Janak Mistry and Daniella Owen were announced as joint winners. They were flown out to the company’s head quarters in Spain to see the design processes and production first hand. In February 2014, the students competed in MODAs “History in the Making” Footwear Design Award. Jenny Louise Dines, Alexandra Friling, Charlotte Lee, Janak Mistry, Daniella Jane Owen and Claire Alice Paccalin were selected as finalists and MODA professionals awarded Jenny 1st place. The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers set The Footwear Student of the Year Award 2014 brief in February, a competition between the De Montfort, Northampton and London Collage of Fashion footwear designers. De Montfort’s Mawuenam Agbenu, Bethany Conway, Alexandra Friling, Tania Taris, and Zuzana Vitamvasova were placed as finalists for the award. On May 16th Bethany Conway was announced as the 2nd Best Footwear Design Student of the year.

All competitions and awards provide great opportunities for striving designers and will hopefully be a gateway into the footwear industry for all who have achieved success.

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N OT E F R O M T H E C O U R S E L E A D E R Welcome to the class of 2014 footwear design degree show. We live in times of instantaneity; it is unusual to have the opportunity to see something that has been three years in the making. The collections and work on show are the result of three years dedication to acquiring the unique specialisation called footwear design. This will put the designers into an exclusive club that sits inside the fashion sector; they will be much sought after.

A question often asked is how, or where do designers get their ideas? How is it possible to constantly be inspired to create new and exciting footwear designs and product? The answer is through knowledge, skill and experience, these factors can be taught to those willing to learn, but this would count for nothing without the addition of creativity, dedication and vision.

Today’s footwear designers use a mixture of traditional and cutting edge tools to create their collections, feeling at ease with a note book and pencil, or sketching on a graphics tablet

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using the latest design software. To create their shoe models a mixture of traditional hand crafted skills passed down from generations and delivered by expert tutors, sit next to digitally printed footwear parts made in state of the art materials.

The footwear industry will be the destination for most of our students; it has been very supportive, setting projects, donating materials, offering work placements and ultimately employment. I hope you enjoy the experience of sharing part of the amazing journey our students have embarked on as you view this diverse and brilliant collection of work.

Kevin Guildford Course Leader Footwear Design De Montfort University May 2014

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M AW U E N A M A G B E N U Email: wuenie@yahoo.com

Mawuenam is a young, aspiring footwear designer with a unique sense of creativity.

She sees things in a completely different way which enables her to develop interesting new concepts and designs. Mawuenam’s passion truly lies in innovative men’s and women’s footwear and accessories. She likes taking the unusual and creating something beautiful ultimately pushing the boundaries of the norm. Mawuenam experiments with different constructions and techniques which ultimately results in the end results being different. Her many skills include hand drawing, CAD and pattern cutting.

the Ripper and twisting it into an exclusive men’s collection. After researching about Victorian men’s style and Victorian mental asylums she crafted a distinctive buckle which has been used in her collection.

Mawuenam’s final major project is all about taking inspiration from the infamous tale of Jack

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CHARLES BELGROVE Email: chas.b@live.com

Charles is a young, enthusiastic and innovative London based designer who looks at the technical aspects of design. He is always thinking of new ways to lead footwear in a new direction. Much of his work is women’s footwear; this is because he believes women’s footwear allows him to be most creative.

For his final major project Charles felt inspired by home interiors such as the kitchen, lounge and bathroom to produce three shoes. The idea for home interiors came from producing a high end product, which went hand in hand with luxury interiors, as well as looking into creative/ modern furniture designs.

Charles always wanted to work in a creative career field and much of his influence came from his passion of studying art at school and the creative freedom involved. The De Montfort footwear course was perfect for him, because trainers were a strong interest of his, however over time he has enjoyed designing women’s ranges the most and believes women’s footwear is a career he wants to pursue. Much of his work contains the influence of sportswear and women’s footwear fused together, whilst still being feminine and elegant.

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STEVIE LEIGH CAPE Email: steviecape@hotmail.com

Stevie is a confident, motivated, lively, and genuine person that strives to be successful in every aspect of her life. She is enthusiastic, extremely reliable and loyal as an employee who is easy to get along with professionally and personally. Nothing inconveniences her in the work place as she aspires for positive results, not only for herself but for the company she works for and the team she works with.

She has worked in fashion retail from the age of 15 for prestigious boutique, Leaf Clothing in Newcastle Upon Tyne as well as working with legendary British designer Terry de Havilland. Stevie can work successfully in a team, be communicative, professional and approachable and build positive relationships with colleagues and clients.

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Stevie’s strength is designing Ladies footwear but can design across the spectrum including Men’s, Children’s and Sports. Her background in retail has also interested her in possibly becoming a footwear buyer and is passionate about the luxury sector.

Stevie was runner up in two competitions, the ‘GAP’ competition where she designed a collection of Children’s footwear and the Biomechanics competition, with a concept that made high heels comfortable, through orthotic insoles designed by herself.

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K AT I E - B E L L E C H I V E R S Email: katie-chivers@hotmail.co.uk

In her three years studying footwear, creative designer Katie-Belle has gained all of the practical and theoretical skills in shoe design and manufacture. As a designer using both CAD and hand illustrations, Katie assimilates both the current and predicted trends into her distinctive personal designs. She uses trends to create initial mood boards before crystallising her ideas and developing final range plans of potential collections. She draws using an eclectic mix of materials and textures based on an imaginative colour palette to increase commerciality whilst sustaining originality.

Whilst studying, Katie has worked in the industry as a designer for an independent British footwear company for the last two years.

She has had the opportunity to not only strengthen her design portfolio, illustrations and CAD abilities, but has also been involved in all aspects of the brand including buying, sourcing, merchandising, retail and marketing. It has been an accomplishment for Katie to see her own designs transform from initial sketches into products that sell.

As a shoemaker, Katie-Belle is adept in transforming unique designs into 3D prototypes and applies her skills in pattern cutting, closing and lasting sequences. Katie’s aim is to perfectly execute prototypes to deliver sellable and wearable products.

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B E T H A N Y C O N WAY Email: bethany.t.conway@gmail.com

Bethany is remarkably creative and fervent within the designing and making of footwear.

With an eye for detail and precision, she has the ability to create meticulous and quirky designs with her exquisite use of illustration.

With the consumer in mind, Bethany is able to construct designs from various sources of inspiration and design details, as this gives her work unique flair and style.

Selected as a finalist for ‘Footwear designer of the year student’ by Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and her experience within bespoke footwear and vintage, bridal shoes as a designer and shoemaker has helped Bethany to develop her knowledge and understanding of the industry and the process in which shoes undertake.

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Bethany has the aptitude to design for men’s, women’s and children’s shoes with a variation of styles. Her preference, however, is women’s shoes and this is the area she wishes to specialise in.

The main inspiration for her collection is the 1920’s era, subtly using ‘flappers’, art deco and distinguished design features from that chosen decade. These elements all marry together to enhance her designs, keeping it a simple and varied collection with a versatile approach.

Bethany designed the collection for weddings and special occasions keeping the 1920’s theme and Spring/Summer 2014 in mind.

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J E N N Y LO U I S E D I N E S Email: jennylouisedines@gmail.com Portfolio: jennylouisedines.tumblr.com

Jenny Louise Dines is a UK based Footwear Designer who specialises in womenswear and also enjoys working with all aspects of the footwear industry such as mens formal/casual styles and childrens shoes. After winning MODAs “History in the Making� Footwear Design Award 2014 and graduating this coming summer, she will be seeking postgraduate employment within footwear design. Jenny also occasionally steps into broad accessory and fashion design as well as trend forecasting and finds transferring her skills and experiences a highlight of her design work.

the every day customer and strives to see her designs sold and worn within.

For the final collection brief of her Footwear Design degree, Jenny has produced a creative design project based on natural sources of light and their resplendent glow. This collection was inspired by all aspects of natural light including sunlight, fire, storms, the Aurora Borealis, bioluminescence and solar systems.

Jenny finalised these inspirational themes into a wearable, formal womens wear collection, showcasing a diverse range of her design capabilities.

Her passion lies in translating innovative, inspirational themes into on trend fashion concepts for the current market. Jenny also enjoys producing commercial footwear for

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S E R N - A N FA N G E-mail: sern.an.fang@gmail.com LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/pub/sern-an-fang/90/355/941/ Coroflot: http://www.coroflot.com/tua/portfolio

Sern is an ambitious designer with a passion for performance footwear. Creating unique concepts an innovative ideas are key elements within his designs. He believes it is essential to bring the most creative products to consumers and athletes in order to improve their performances. Sern’s ability to speak English and Mandarin gives him an advantage on communication with the Far East. He enjoys taking a challenge, traveling and learning different cultures; he believes working at the footwear industry would allow him to do so.

ability to take inspiration from unthinkable places leads him to be chosen to attend the first iPensole online course in 2012.

Sern’s final major project is about exploring the future, imagining what the world would be like in 50 years. The aim of the collection is to enhance the performance of athletes by experimenting with unusual materials, construction and technology.

Over the past three years Sern developed his talent and skills considerably, he takes an innovative idea through to the final prototype.

He had a three moth’s internship with a sports shoe factory in China in 2012 which allows him to have a better understanding of the manufacturing industry then the average. Sern’s

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H A R R I E T FA Z A C K E R L E Y Email: harriet.faz@hotmail.com

Harriet is a footwear designer who combines enthusiasm and creativity with a practical understanding, generating imaginative and considered ideas. She has a passion for design, from briefing, research and ideas, to graphic studies and communication, and the actual crafting of prototypes. She has developed production skills that in turn influence her design approach.

good design in balance, posture, health, fitness and comfort. This will both complement and inform her creativity and depth as a designer.

Commercial experience has been gained through placements with Next, GStar, and TrimTech, and given a mature insight into the communication of ideas to client and production team, materiality, commercial awareness and the business and buying world.

She aspires to a career embracing new technology and deeper understanding for creative, exciting and intelligent footwear design.

Harriet draws inspiration from words and concepts as well as visual references, and her final project ‘Contemporary Romanesque’ playfully expands a thematic concept into a collection of original designs.

She is planning to advance her skills further by studying for an MA in biomechanics, to develop a deeper understanding of the role of

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ALEXANDRA FRILING Email: alexfriling@hotmail.co.uk LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/pub/alex-friling/71/41a/579/

Alexandra is a fresh and aspiring footwear designer specialising in womenswear, menswear and accessories. Her strengths lie in CAD designs, as well as innovative construction methods and forecasting future trends and incorporating them into her original and distinctive designs which can be adapted to both formal and casual. Trend forecasting is something Alexandra finds fascinating and she would love to work in an environment that would help her determine the future trends for the footwear market along side being within a footwear design position. Alexandra strives to complete every challenge thrown at her, to the highest possible standard, and is looking forward to applying her skills in the industry.

Alexandra was recognised for her unique style by being selected as a finalist in both MODA’s “History in the Making 2014″ and the “Bill Bird Bespoke Orthopaedic 2013″ design awards.

For this collection of mens’ and womens’ shoes, together with associated accessories, Alexandra has taken inspiration from insect anatomy, emulating the shapes, colour and textures of insects. The collection shows an array of formal luxury as well as toned down casual interpretations.

On the course Alexandra has taken all the techniques and skills provided through various projects and applied this to her designing.

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MEGAN GADRE Email: meg@gadre.co.uk Website: gadre.co.uk

Megan’s lineage is firmly rooted in footwear, with her great and great, great Grandfather both employed by the footwear industry within Lancashire from 1900 to 1970. Megan’s passion for designing footwear and her interest in shoes began at an early age, and has gone from strength to strength while being enrolled on the Footwear Design course at De Montfort University.

Megan would like to uphold the family tradition of working in footwear and put her talents to use creating bespoke men’s shoes. She has had three years work experience along side her university course at a bespoke shoemaker to expand and improve upon her existing knowledge and understanding of the area.

She has a particular interest in using traditional techniques to create quality footwear.

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In her last university project she has focussed on men’s shoes, taking inspiration from the art deco movement but adding contemporary features. This is demonstrated by the use of lines and shapes associated with art deco. A modern twist has been achieved by using a squared toe rather than the rounded toe of Brooks Brothers’ shoes which were featured in the Great Gatsby film (2013). The glamour of the 1920s is reflected in the use of metallic and patent leathers

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K E I LY G R A N V I L L E Email: keilygranville@yahoo.co.uk

Keily is a creative footwear designer, and following her course at DMU, would like to work designing for women.

Taking inspiration from a diverse range of themes in order to develop her distinctive style, Keily uses opulent colours and materials to develop ingenious twists on women’s footwear. Keily’s preferred skills are in drawing and designing, using CAD for technical drawings, with a particular interest in structure, style and colour. Photoshop, sketchbook pro and illustrator are key tools used. A creative thinker, Keily is enthusiastic in developing the key elements from her themes, for her inventive approach.

clothing, resulting in 3 women’s footwear designs. This theme was chosen because the vibrant colours are on trend for spring 2015, and the inspired design work ensures that the wearer is ‘dressed to kill’. This design project is initially intended for concert performers and ‘red carpet’ events, reflecting the vibrancy of the music genre, but also has consideration for practicality.

Keily’s designs are aimed to be artistic, ingenious and also wearable.

Her most recent project, inspired by the clothing of the matador is designed around the rich embellishment on the traditional ceremonial

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BETHANY HAND Email: bethhand123@hotmail.co.uk

Bethany Hand is a distinctive and innovative designer who strives to create only the best in women’s footwear. Her footwear designs are Imaginative and feature expensive detailed embellishments which ooze sophistication and femininity in every way. With a strong passion for footwear her first footsteps led her to study at Leicester College back in 2011 where her enthusiasm for textile fabrics started. She developed her skills into her final major project being based on Gothic beauty, using luxurious deep velvets and exquisite lace. Bethany graduated back in 2013 with a foundation degree in footwear.

year at De Montfort University. Here she has developed and improved her skills, producing an individual and elegant style with her creations.

The inspiration behind her final collection, comes from the study and her love of flowers.

With an awareness of current trends and catwalks, Bethany’s choice of florals and pastel colours would give her final collection a place in the present footwear market.

In the Autumn 2013 Bethany continued to follow her ambition to become a footwear designer by extending her studies to a final

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GRÁINNE HARNEY Email: grainne.harney@gmail.com

Gráinne is a young determined Irish footwear designer who began her education in the fashion industry by studying fashion design and textiles in her home town of Limerick, Ireland.

While attending Limerick College of Further Education she was awarded Most Commercially Viable Collection which gave Gráinne the confidence to continue her education.

Through studying fashion Gráinne’s passion for footwear design became apparent and she began attending Leicester College and received a Foundation Degree in Footwear Design and then progressed onto the BA Hons Footwear Design course at De Montfort University. Studying at De Montfort University has

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helped Gráinne grow as a design and use her knowledge in textiles to create unique and quirky designs.

Gráinne’s Final Project was inspired by the illustrations and quotes from the well-known Dr Seuss books. She has used these books to create a range of ladies footwear which display Gráinne’s innovative and creative style.

All aspects of the shoes have been taken into account when designing with this inspiration from the last shape which was inspired by the book “Oh The Places You’ll Go!”, while the materials used have been inspired by the eye catching way Dr Seuss simply illustrated each book in its own unique way.

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ALISA KIRKWOOD Email: alisakirkwood@hotmail.co.uk

Alisa Kirkwood is a passionate footwear and accessories designer, with a unique yet classic style, which she can easily adapt to any briefing.

With a love for fashion, Alisa takes her inspiration from everything around her. She has a natural creative flair and thrives on a challenge.

Alisa is hardworking and driven, and will never settle for anything less than her best. With great communication skills and a love for working within a team, she is punctual, organised and excellent at working to deadlines. She is skilled in presenting her designs in both hand drawn and CAD format.

her first international design competition with Kandee Shoes.

During Alisa’s second year, she won an internship with Gap through a competition in conjunction with DMU. Alisa spent 8 weeks working in New York City, America with Gap gaining fantastic experience in the Kid’s and Baby Accessories & Footwear design team.

After excelling on the footwear design course and a successful summer as a designer in New York, Alisa is currently spending 3 months at Kurt Geiger as their Design Intern, and is looking forward to continuing her creative & business journey within fashion.

In Alisa’s first year her creative design and illustration skills were recognised when she won

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C H A R LOT T E L E E Email: charlotte.amy.lee@hotmail.com Website: charlottealee.com

Charlotte is an innovative footwear designer.

She has a strong interest in using modern materials to create concept footwear.

Charlotte has used her skills in trend forecasting, CAD, illustration and footwear construction to provide unique adaptations of briefs. She has combined these skills with inventive ideas that show her passion for pushing the boundaries within footwear design.

She has received acknowledgment for her work throughout the course by being shortlisted for competitions such as the Biomechanics award and MODAs history in the making design award. Charlotte received 3rd place in the Bespoke Patternmakers orthopedic design award and she received the Cordwainers outstanding student award for 2013.

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Charlotte is from Street, Somerset and has completed two interns within the design department at Clarks as well as a 2-week intern for Grenson. She attended a 2-week intensive design summer school at Modartech, Italy.

Her final major project is based upon Surface and texture and is influenced by the contrast of natural and modern futuristic materials.

Charlotte has been inspired by constructions and unique details within design. Charlotte’s final collection is a sports influenced men’s hybrid collection.

Charlotte aims to graduate with a first class honours degree, and is enthusiastic about starting her career in footwear design.

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C H A R L E S M A Z I WA Email: cmaziwa@gmail.com

Charles is a versatile, innovative and passionate footwear designer who has an eye for opulent detailing. Equipped with automotive design like CAD skills, he can also create wearable prototypes, Specification sheet, patterns and sole tooling.

The term “jack of all trades master of none� does not apply to the 2013 Leicester College Innovative Award winner who can design anything he sets his mind on and can find solutions to any design brief he is given. In 2013 he tackled a freelance design brief set by Bhonzo Studios for their android app Airport Ops in which he did 90% of the graphics, the app currently has 50 000 to 100 000 downloads. Despite the fact that Charles is a versatile designer, his passion mainly lies with performance footwear and casual shoes.

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JANAK MISTRY Email: janak@janakmistry.com Website: janakmistry.com Telephone: +44 07950 880 144

Janak in as enthusiastic, self motivated and hard working individual further more he is innovative, versatile and experimental as a designer, thinking of new concepts for footwear. Having a creative flair is important to him as he believes this gives him the capacity to have ground breaking designs which can then be toned down to commercialised products. As well as being creative, Janak is aware of upcoming trends which he incorporates in his work, his strong abilities in CAD and material selection makes him the perfect candidate in a working environment.

Whilst studying he also interned at Aruna seth and Elan Polo where one of his designs was mass produced for Debenhams.

For his Final Major Collection he has chosen the theme ‘Cymatics’ which is the visualisation of sound. His love for technology and quirkiness is incorporated into his designs and product displays which relates to his final major collection.

Throughout the course Janak has been recognised for his talent, he won a competition with El Naturalista and was one of six finalists in MODA ‘history in the making 2014’ competition.

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A J AY N A G L A Email: ajay.nagla@gmail.com Linkedin: linkedin.com/pub/ajay-nagla/88/962/7

Ajay is a multitalented designer whose passion is women’s footwear. His talent was discovered later in life after working for many years as a retail manager after leaving school. Although the oldest member of the class his approach, versatility and attention to detail is extraordinary.

Ajay is very commercial aware and this is shown in this work, his appreciation of art and contrasting designs allows him to think outside of the box. This in turn gives him the confidence to be creative and produce unique pieces with thorough consideration given to style and comfort.

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KIRSTY MARIE NAREY Email: kmnarey@aol.com

Kirsty has an unlimited amount of flair which enables her to produce an array of designs.

designs. She strives to create innovative, stylish designs which are practical.

Since the age of 12, Kirsty has known she wanted to be in the footwear industry, her passion for shoes was evident to anyone. It was her dedication and ambitious nature that has taken that passion which has led Kirsty to where she is today, previously being rewarded a Merit in FD Footwear.

Kirsty has a flexible nature which allows her to design a multitude of ranges for men, women and children. Her distinct hand-writing for women’s designs is easily recognisable, while her eye for details makes her men’s designs eye catching. Kirsty strives for perfection so that the end product is always something she can admire and be proud of.

Kirsty doesn’t just have a passion for shoes but also for helping and supporting communities, shown in her many hours of voluntary work. In several of her projects she has combined these ideas together, with some incredible results.

Kirsty possesses the ability to see the product from the consumers’ perspective and not just as an art form, while still maintaining vivacious

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UNN INGER OREBERG Email: unningeroreberg@gmail.com LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/pub/unn-inger-oreberg/4a/506/19a/ Portfolio: unningeroreberg.dunked.com

Unn Inger is a passionate ladies footwear designer from Norway, who with her Scandinavian simplicity creates innovative and aesthetic footwear designs. She has been interested in art and design from a young age, and she attended an art oriented school and college, where she wrote her final major project on the history of footwear. After graduating college, she went on to study cobbling. Upon graduating in 2009, she went on to work as locally renowned cobbler in her home town of Haugesund for more than two years.

and developed new skills with every project. In her second year, Unn Inger was awarded The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers Bespoke Orthopaedic Design Award 2013.

For her final collection, Unn Inger researched into plus-sized feet and footwear, and created a capsule collection has been created to fill this gap in the ladies footwear market. The inspiration for the collection has been drawn from many of her travels, and her dreams of traveling to faraway destinations.

In 2011 she followed her aspirations towards a career in the footwear industry, and pursued her footwear design dreams. At De Montfort university she has challenged herself with every project, created artistic and stylish designs,

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DANIELLA JANE OWEN Email: daniellajaneowen@hotmail.com

Daniella is a highly creative designer with a passion for unique footwear. Growing up in Northampton it was almost fate that she decided to study footwear design.

Daniella has been able to use her skills to create unique footwear designs, skills such as illustration, trending, sewing and CAD. These skills have helped her to win projects such as El Naturalista be placed second for bespoke and be a finalist in the Gap, Biomechanics and Moda projects.

Having a love for every aspect of footwear design Daniella is ready for a career in the industry. Having learnt so much at DMU she is now ready to learn form industry experts and work her way up as part of a design team.

Daniella sees herself as a creative problem solver and is always striving to achieve more this along with hard work and determination will help her achieve her goal of being a successful footwear designer.

With an island heritage Daniella has always loved the sea and chose it as her subject for her FMP. Taking inspiration from the ocean, the creatures that live in it and those who sail upon it her final collection is a reflection of the sea.

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C L A I R E A L I C E PA C C A L I N Email: claire.alice.paccalin@gmail.com Website: clairealicedesigns.com

Claire Alice Paccalin is a designer who has a very distinct style and interest in pursuing a career in women’s fashion.

Coming from a bilingual family and growing up in France she is equally fluent in both French and English. She is a talented illustrator and painter and during her three-year degree at DMU she has mastered and perfected her Illustrator and Photoshop skills, making her an all round design and fashion illustrator.

has a fine appreciation for wildlife and nature.

In all her projects she has aspired to engage each one with an original style, wishing never to produce the expected, understanding that this is the way to be recognized.

Her Glastonbury Festival inspired design was selected for the final of the MODA Heritage competition this year. For her final collection, “Sweet Decay�, Claire has taken inspiration from decay within the nature of her surroundings.

She has always had an eye for depicting beauty where others may not and particularly

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K I R S T Y LO R N A P R O C T E R Email: kirsty.procter@yahoo.co.uk

Kirsty has always had a genuine interest in all aspects of creativity, and from a young age has enjoyed doing hand-crafted projects.

Through studying art and textiles at school and college, and always having an obsession for shoes, she aspired to study Footwear Design at DMU. She was shortlisted for The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers Bespoke Orthopaedic Design Award 2013 and was awarded 2nd place for her work in the Tim King Biomechanics competition, where she developed orthotics that corrected and enhanced her own walking posture. Her project work was exhibited at Northwick Park at a Pattenmakers event during summer 2013 and she was invited along to present her work to the members of the Pattenmakers. She also attended the 2014 Independent Shoemakers Conference in Surrey,

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where she displayed the work she did for both the Moda and Cordwainers competitions.

For her Final Major Project, Kirsty has worked alongside the bespoke shoemakers at Bill Bird Shoes to develop and make madeto-measure lasts to fit her own feet. Her final collection consists of wearable prototypes to suit her own style and personality. The theme for the collection is Black for all Seasons and is inspired by her SS/15 trend prediction project from second year: The Shadows of Black.

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CHANAN RAM Email: Chanan_ram@hotmail.co.uk LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/chananramfootwear Coroflot: coroflot.com/chananramfootwear/portfolio

Chanan Ram: a passionate commercial men’s footwear designer with a particular flare for luxury yet sporty aesthetic. Studying Footwear Design at De Montfort University has enabled him to outlet his remarkably creative eye for design in the form of what he knows best… Footwear.

Detailed, yet minimalistic design is somewhat of a signature style for Chanan; deep routed concepts keep his projects fresh and exciting, but relevant to the ever-changing nature of the fashion industry. Chanan can expertly carry out market analysis reports, customer profile packs and trend analyses to accompany his design development process and believes initial research adds great depth and substance to his design work.

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Chanan is versatile when it comes to his design development process and is only contempt with a design he would be proud to wear. Life-like renderings and technical specification sheets are composed to an industry standard when he utilises the Adobe creative suite. Colour and material choices are carefully thought over and technical / practical work is precise to the millimeter.

The mission statement for his final major project was to ‘Evoke emotion through three stages of a narrative (equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium) using minimalistic design as a way of expressing this emotion’

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LOT T I E R O B E R T S Email: charlotte.roberts@virgin.net

Lottie is a confident and motivated young designer who has always possessed a natural creative flair. Through her degree in Footwear Design and A-Levels in Design & Technology, Graphic Design and German, she has established and developed a rich and eclectic skill base. Lottie practices a broad spectrum of digital, design and manufacture related traits to a high standard, including CAD in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, technical drawing, photography, sewing, woodwork, graphic design and visual merchandising.

As a designer, Lottie’s passion lies within ladies footwear and accessories, with careful consideration and focus towards details, materials and prints that is demonstrated throughout casual, luxury and couture fields.

Her work draws inspiration from places she visits along with both current and predicted

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trends creating eye-catching and beautiful footwear, that combined with her fascination of biomechanics also support and cushion the foot. This fascination allowed Lottie to be shortlisted for both The Biomechanics Design award and The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers Bespoke Orthopaedic Design Award in 2013.

For her final collection, Lottie has taken inspiration from a recent trip to Paris, drawing influences from the city’s intricate architecture and ‘Le cabinet de sorcellerie’ in the ‘Comptoir General’. Dark influences of witchcraft, voodoo and sorcery are adapted to create a beautiful, fresh and contemporary luxury ladies range.

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SOPHIE ROBINSON

Sophie is a versatile designer who is a highly creative and artistic individual. Her passion lies with women’s fashion footwear with an eye for detail she is able to see the beauty and charm in the most unusual inspiration points which allows her to create unique, original and innovative outcomes.

A love of illustration enables her to bring her design ideas to life and convey these quirky ideas clearly. Sophie has always had a love for all things fashion related and with a background in retail she is able to visualise her ideas from the initial design process to the final product. She envisions herself working for a company that will allow her to continue being creative as well as helping her grow as a designer.

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The initial inspiration for her collection was ‘Sculpture of the human form’, researching into this made her fascinated with the idea of skin over the skeleton, allowing her to use alternative materials such as latex. The idea being that each shoe is an abstract bone construction using resin and plastic with soft, skin like materials stretched over the ‘bones’, creating a unique, innovative Spring/Summer 2015 collection.

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MALLISSA RUSSELL Email: Mallissa1993@gmail.com

Mallissa is a very versatile designer whose main interest is in bio mechanics and comfort footwear, enjoys doing women’s, men’s or children’s footwear. Her interest in becoming a Footwear Designer started when she was at college studying Art and Design, creating a final project which involved making creative shoes. This led to her wanting to learn about the industry more, which led to her joining the course at DMU.

The initial inspiration for her final collection was making sandals that are good for ones feet and are stylish. She wanted to show diversity therefore did a collection with a men’s, a women’s and adolescent’s shoe, taking aspects of summer pastel colours.

From then she strived to learn more and thoroughly enjoyed the making part of the course as well as bio mechanics and bespoke. She believes comfort footwear can be creative and more stylish, be more integrated into more fashion brands. Her style is coming up with innovative new styles and features that makes shoes stand out but does also like classical styled shoes.

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TA N I A TA R I S Email: taniataris@hotmail.co.uk Portfolio: behance.net/taniataris

Tania Taris is a designer who acts upon instant inspiration she conveys influences from her background nationalities, Italy and Turkey, where footwear is a renowned industry.

Working around people who strive with the same passion for craft and design is one of the most important factors of employment for this beginning designer.

What this designer finds intriguing is the way footwear can be portrayed beautifully simple yet involve such intricacies of extensive testing, respect to the biomechanics of the foot and human kinetics, and the process of creating leather from skin.

What captivates her is how footwear can take part in developing with all humankind talents, discoveries and inventions, in technology, science. ‘It exhilarates me to challenge a new thought, or working on a new concept with people from other creative professions.

A love for longevity in well-manufactured leather goods exists in her personal taste.

Sustainability is a consideration she will pursue, understanding more that 20 billion shoes are produced currently for the UK and less than 5% get recycled, it would be a shame to eliminate this important element.

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HANNAH TUCKER E-mail: hannahelizabethtucker@gmail.com Portfolio: hannahelizabethtucker.tumblr.com/portfolio

Hannah is a creative and versatile individual whose main passion lies in ladies footwear. Art and design has been a strong interest of hers from a young age, and she has studied art, photography and textiles through school and college. After completing college aged 18, Hannah chose to combine her skills in fashion and textiles and her strong interest in footwear further by going on to study Footwear Design at De Montfort University.

With experience working in footwear retail, Hannah enjoys seeing through every aspect of the design process. She particularly enjoys fashion trend forecasting and has an eye for upcoming trends in footwear. With this broad knowledge, she has the ability to create designs that are on trend and that can be realised into contemporary footwear designs.

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The inspiration for her final major project collection was distorted art, such as pixelation, glitch artworks and abstract art. She collected research by using her skills in photography to capture images and edited the images in Photoshop to create original artwork that inspired the designs. The collection is aimed towards to young adult women’s market.

Hannah is skilled in Photoshop and Illustrator, and enjoys working both digitally and by hand.

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R I LY N U YA N W U N E E-mail: rilyn_uyan@yahoo.com

Rilyn is a footwear design student, who specialises in men’s and women’s shoes and accessories. She has a forte for print design, illustration, and trend forecasting.

With a flair for print design, she experiments with different techniques for print incorporating traditional techniques on modern materials. Rilyn would like to work in a field focusing on trend forecasting and designing shoes as well as accessories. Haven’t lived in different countries growing up, she has a versatile approach to concepts and design creating avant-garde design which can be recreated for commercial use.

Rilyn’s final major project theme consists of Islamic architecture, geometry and interiors parts of clocks recreating the idea of Islamic art with her distinctive approach to print.

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Z U Z A N A V I TA M VA S O VA Email: z.vitamvasova@gmail.com

Zuzana is a versatile designer with a passion for lifestyle unisex footwear.

She came from a little city in Slovakia, which is famous for it’s footwear industry, this is what inspired her to study Footwear and Accessory design at her local college. She finished her studies there with a Certificate of Merit and moved to the UK. After several years working in retail for a lifestyle surf company, where she gained experience in merchandising and customer service, she decided to go to DMU and study footwear design, in order to improve her chances of gaining her dream job as a footwear designer.

style of design is a mix of urban, contemporary and commercial footwear. Her drawing and painting skills are aiding her in designing unique styles, prints and logos. She loves challenges in areas she is not comfortable with, seeing these as an opportunity to gain new experiences, which help her to develop her skills even further.

The inspiration for her men’s collection came from the symmetry and asymmetry of nature, developed into geometric shapes, by researching crystals and astrology.

The university helped her develop her knowledge of footwear, illustration skills and the process of creating unique shoes. Zuzana’s

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D A N I E L L E WAT H E S Email: daniellewathes@gmail.com

Danielle is imaginative and artistic, and relishes being set a new challenge. She pushes her boundaries by investigating all aspects of art and culture in extensive detail for each brief.

Danielle views fashion and footwear as a necessity in modern culture and views design as a way to enhance people’s lives .Fitting the needs of a customer to make their life that little bit fuller is a priority.

the world of fiction and non- fiction stories and myths, specific fictional characters as well as exploring the development of science and genetic trials, to create a collection of research to support a range of footwear and accessories.

Danielle wishes to continue her education in design with the hope of having the opportunity to learn from others in the field. She would like to focus on her design skills in all areas after graduating from De Montfort University.

She would like to enhance her knowledge of design in more depth, exploring marketing and merchandising throughout her career.

For Danielle’s final major project she continued using the inspiration gained from a previous brief which looking into gender identity. She expanded on this by first using the word “transformations” and its connotations. She explored

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The De Montfort University (BA hons) Footwear Design students would like to thank their footwear tutors for their support, hard work, time and dedication throughout the course: • • • • • •

Kevin Guildford Philip Stewart Christine Davis Michael King Matthew Willis and all the other tutors who have taught us.

The students who attended Leicester College for the first two years of their degree would like to thank their tutors for their support, hard work, time, and dedication: • • •

Kim Newell Paul Higginson Richard Baugh

Thank you to The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers, The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, Bill Bird Shoes, Cione Footcare Services, Gap, El Naturalista, and MODA for their interesting and challenging design briefs and projects.

SPONSORS

A big thank you to Bob Angell for his heel and sole unit making.

Thank you to the photographer David Usher for the great job he has done with our footwear and portrait photos.

Thank you to everyone who donated and contributed to the student leather shop.

Thank you to the book printers, Full Square Ltd., for their support and guidance in the creation of this book.

And thank you to Alexandra and Simon Friling for their help in creating our website: www.dmufootwear2014.com

The students would particularly like to thank all of the technicians in the De Montfort Art and Design workshops for their unfailing support, dedication and guidance.

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