Footwear Design student Georgia Battell has received a massive boost to her blossoming career after being chosen to create a pair of bespoke shoes for De Montfort University Leicester’s (DMU) Chancellor Baroness Lawrence.
Georgia was one of five finalists in a competition set by the DMU Footwear department which asked students to design a shoe for Baroness Lawrence.
The finalists were taken to the House of Lords in Westminster on Monday to meet Baroness Lawrence face-to-face, talk through their designs and then allow the Baroness to choose which of the five designs she would like to see made for her.
Georgia, from Waterford, Ireland, said: “I am in awe. I am really happy and honoured to have been chosen. I am looking forward to the project as I have always wanted to go into a factory and see my designs turned into a pair of shoes.
“Baroness Lawrence has done so much for the university during the year she has been here as Chancellor. My design is a tribute to her and DMU, incorporating the red and black colours of the university and the gold and red of Baroness Lawrence’s robes that she wears at graduations.
“I thought of #DareToBeFearless, which is the slogan for DMU, and how Baroness Lawrence is the embodiment of that.”
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Baroness Lawrence said: “The standard of entries for this competition was very high. It was difficult to narrow the initial entries down to five. With the final five I decided I would judge them on their presentation. I also want to be able to wear a shoe that I can wear during the day through to evening, so it was about comfort as well as style.
“I think any woman would love to have a bespoke shoe. I feel really privileged as I have never had a pair of shoes made for me.
“But the most important thing is this competition has been really beneficial to the students. The competition was a great idea. DMU works for the students. The thing I have noticed ever since I first came here is how much the university recognises the students and encourages them to achieve all that they can.”
It is not the first time the department has set a task of designing a pair of shoes for a person in the public eye. When The Queen visited DMU five years ago as her very first stop for the Diamond Jubilee Tour of the Commonwealth, Footwear Design student Becka Hunt was chosen to create a pair of shoes for one of the world’s leading fashion icons – Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
Posted on Tuesday 28 March 2017