Contour Fashion students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) visited the head office of UK underwear brand Lounge, showcasing their creative and market know-how to the team.
Students Ruby Godefroy, Tierney Stoneman and Eleanor Edwards were awarded the top three places, impressing the brand’s creative team with their designs.
The group had been tasked with designing an innovative collection for the Spring/Summer 2023 Lounge range and producing one full garment to be presented and judged during the visit.
While given creative free reign, the students had to adhere to the sustainability and size inclusivity elements of the brief, using innovative branding and materials to reflect the Lounge ethos.
The winning design was created by Ruby Godefroy, whose fairy tale inspired garment caught the eye of the judges.
Ruby presenting her first-place design to Lounge representatives
“From a young age I’ve loved fairy tales and nature and wanted to bring that concept to a commercial brand, which was a challenge in itself. I started thinking about the lines and patterns of butterfly wings and how I could incorporate them into a garment,” said the 22-year-old from Market Harborough.
“I took some second-hand taxidermy butterflies to the DMU Drawing Centre and looked at them under a microlens. I tried to include the delicacy of the wings and femininity but also to create something really powerful that fit the Lounge company mission.”
Tierney’s second place submission put a timeless spin on a Valentine’s Day design, creating a classic and wearable garment for special occasions.
Tierney presenting her collection at Lounge headquarters
“I wanted to create something that could be worn all year round through different seasons. I found some embroidery on Etsy with hearts on which inspired everything else,” said the 22-year-old from Leicestershire.
“I work a lot on the stand rather than on paper so it really helped to have something physical to start off the rest of the design.”
For Eleanor, the challenges faced by women after caesarean births inspired her to create a design that could make a difference.
“I really wanted to produce something with a meaning behind it. I looked into different health conditions that aren’t catered for on the market so much and realised there’s no luxury underwear for people who have had C-sections,” said the 21-year-old from Chesterfield.
Eleanor explaining the concept behind her design to the judges
“To understand their experience, I put out a survey and the results were really moving. So many people mentioned the impact it had had on their confidence and their struggle to find nice underwear that was comfortable after the surgery.
“My design had to be practical and attractive, so I included bagged-out seams, front and side fastenings on the high-waisted knickers, while taking into account the sensitivity of the C-section scar. I added a robe and a garment bag with milk pads that were made from the scrap fabric from the main garment to be sustainable.”
Experts from Lounge visited DMU multiple times throughout the project, giving the students hands-on advice on their designs.
Eleanor said: “There were so many learning opportunities in this experience. I initially wanted to use magnets rather than nursing clips for comfort, but when Lounge came in, they advised me that people with pacemakers wouldn’t be able to use them. This made me look into developing a range of different clips which made the collection accessible for people with different health conditions.”
Contour Fashion students at Lounge headquarters
For Ruby, the support she received from both Lounge and the course tutors allowed her to gain the confidence she needed to excel in the project.
“Lounge gave us great constructive criticism when they came in, which really helped us to achieve our potential while building our confidence,” said Ruby.
“We also had one-to-one tutorials with them which was so exciting. I’ve never had the opportunity to work with a big company like that before and it’s made a lot of us really excited for what will come next after graduation.”
Commenting on the support from the course tutors, Tierney said: “They’re just the best. I was really struggling with a key element of my design and I got great hands-on help from one of my tutors. It was one of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever had.”
All three winners gained invaluable industry insight thanks to the project with Lounge, which stands them in great stead for their careers after graduation.
Eleanor summarised the impact of the experience: “The whole day was a ‘pinch me’ moment. I feel so lucky.”
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Posted on Friday 21 April 2023