De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) graduate Kimberly Hamilton has taken Canadian catwalks by storm and started a dream design job in Germany.
After graduating with a first in BA (Hons) Contour Fashion in 2015, Kimberly returned home to showcase her degree collection at the 10th anniversary of Western Canada Fashion Week (WCFW), before relocating to Germany to begin working for LACE Lingerie GmbH as a designer.
Talking after WCFW, the second-largest Canadian fashion event, Kimberly said: “Everything went as well as it could be. I can’t picture it any better in my mind. I am incredibly pleased I did it.”
Kimberly left a career in marketing to pursue her dream to design lingerie. She said: “Returning to studies later in life was certainly challenging, but the journey was certainly worth it.
“I had a clear idea in my mind that I wanted to learn everything that I could about designing larger cup bras, and how to create better fitting bras.
“I’ve had many incredible opportunities to work with people in the industry, found a supportive mentor to guide me, and now I’ve landed a dream job, straight out of university. It’s never too late to follow your dreams, no matter how big they are,” she says.
As a young woman, Kimberly struggled to find bras in larger cup sizes. A selection of lingerie beyond a DD cup wasn’t widely available and in 2001, she discovered European brands at a small independent bra boutique in Edmonton, Canada and was hooked, working there as a seamstress and bra-fitter for five years.
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Now in her first week working on full-busted blouses, lingerie and swimwear for LACE, she said: “It’s amazing. I’m already working on developing a new product for LACE which will launch for Summer 2016.
“I’m the first full-time in-house designer and technician for the company and I’m so lucky to be involved in the entire process of design, pattern development, sourcing and manufacturing, right through to see the retail sale to the customer fulfilled."
In 2012, Kimberly moved to the UK to pursue DMU’s Contour Fashion degree, widely regarded by industry experts as one of the best of its kind in the world.
According to the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey 2013-14, 95.8% of DMU undergraduates are in full-time employment or further education within six months of completing their course, compared to a national average of 93.2%.
As well as securing a top job and seeing her collection take to the catwalk, Kimberly is working to establish her own intimates brand, Kimtimates, specialising in lingerie for larger-busted ladies.
Her degree collection of six outfits, The Enigma Collection, was inspired by WWII code-breaking technology in Bletchley Park, UK. It features highly detailed laser cut elements she custom-designed for the collection, silk trims and sheer panels, along with braided cord strap details and Swarovski crystals.
Designed with the fuller-busted woman in mind, Kimberly produced garments in 32GG and bottoms offering more coverage than most commercial lingerie designs.
All photography credited to Kelly Rosborogh and the Bokehccino Project for WCFW.
Posted on Wednesday 14 October 2015