The Contour Fashion course at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has always had a reputation for supplying the best talent to esteemed lingerie brands, so it should come as no surprise that luxury label Coco De Mer was the latest to set final year students the task of creating lingerie that captured the spirit of the company. Coco De Mer CEO Lucy Litwack was so impressed when she came to the campus to judge the students’ projects that she ended up picking five winners rather than the customary first, second and third.
Chanice Dwyer
This included two joint first places, which went to Chanice Dwyer, from Bedford, and Erran MacColl from Leicester, who have both earned the fantastic prize of a placement at the Coco De Mer design studios in London. Ms Litwack said: “As always I have been so impressed with the talent on the Contour course at DMU. I feel as though the students have really captured the essence of the Coco De Mer brand and I have seen some really exciting creative and technical design work. It was hard to narrow down the winners of the competition. I hope the winning students will now take me up on an offer of an internship at our London design studio because we would love to work with them and help nurture their talent.”
Chanice, from Bedford, won joint first with designs based on Chinese architecture and folk art. She said: “I am really surprised but extremely honoured to have won. Meeting with someone from such a prestigious company, and for them to treat you with such a high level of respect for what you do, really makes you feel a part of the industry. I don’t think there are many courses elsewhere that could offer these sorts of opportunities.”
Erran MacColl
Erran, from Leicester, based her patterns on the delicacy and detail in natural forms, which involved looking at flowers under the microscope to find intricate designs for her materials. She said: “I was not expecting to win, which makes this all the more rewarding. The hard work has really paid off. To be noticed by someone who is so high up in the industry is a great feeling. I really want to work in the luxury lingerie business so I will definitely be taking up the opportunity of a placement with Coco De Mer.”
The third year students are now working towards creating a final collection which will be judged in May, with the best earning a place at the DMU Contour Fashion catwalk show in June. The catwalk show takes place every year in the opulent surroundings of Freemasons’ Hall, Covent Garden.
