Next Generation of shoe designers to shine at top UK show

Six Footwear Design students at De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester have been selected to showcase their innovative shoe designs at the UK’s largest fashion trade show this month.

The six students including a husband and wife who travelled from overseas to study footwear design, another who gave up a football career to design shoes and another who owns 150 pairs of trainers and dreams of a career in sports shoe design, are delighted at the chance to show their talent to thousands of industry professionals.

DMU in Leicester teamed up with MODA Footwear this year for ‘History in the Making’, a bespoke project which challenged final year footwear design students to create shoes that bring the rich heritage of the footwear industry into the 21st century.

Chelsea Yu-Chin Liu and Toby Chih-Hao Lo; Sam Pearce; David Mawdsley; Bethan Horn; and Beth Cassie were then chosen by a panel of industry experts to display their shoe designs at the MODA Footwear show on 21 – 23 February at the NEC in Birmingham. Their designs will also feature in the UK’s leading trade magazine Fashion Extras.

Married Taiwanese students Toby Chih-Hao Lo and Chelsea Yu-Chi Liu came to the UK after six years in Australia to study DMU’s unique Footwear Design degree.

Chelsea said: “We are really delighted to both be selected to show our work at MODA.

“My theme is ‘Victorian era’ and I’ve used not only the old styles but also the new styles influenced by Victorian fashions. I love the ruffles and bustle skirts so I used a lot of them when I designed the shoes and my final design is based on Queen Victoria’s bustle skirts.

“I use white leather, textile and elastic webbing on the vamp and very nice red vegetable tan leather for the large decorative plume on the heel. The inspiration of the heel is from ornate wooden designs of Victorian architecture and furniture.”

Toby’s design is entitled “Lobster Chair” and he said: “I have used the classic curved shape and shell-like features of the design-classic chair to inspire this innovative shoe. The upper design includes wire inserted so the wearer can bend it to different shapes to suit their own tastes and outfits.”

Sam, who swapped his professional football career in Spain to work towards his ambition of becoming a shoe designer, has drawn inspiration for his design from his love of sports.

He chose to design a high fashion boot with a ribbed front panel and exaggerated tongue which resembles performance motorbike footwear. It is made from high grade white leather with a silver lining, a toe cap and heel piece.

Sam said: “My Rewind collection aims to capture the forward-thinking of the 1980s, taking inspiration from the film Tron and the Delorean car: both ground-breaking at the time of their release.”

David, 20, from Fulwood, Preston, has a particular love for sport shoes and currently owns 150 pairs of trainers, influencing him to focus on sport performance for his final design.

He said: “I’ve used the Cobra Mustang Shelby 1968 fastback as inspiration for the design because of its shape, formality, visual aesthetics, finish, heritage and performance, all which I wanted to reflect in my shoe which I’ve called DAVMAW cobra.

“The shoe mixes traditional shoe making with modern sports performance.  My design process is very structured but my imagery is conceptual and I wanted this to be reflected in the shoe. It’s an alternative structure with performance sports elements but also a formal finish. Using brown and worn leathers I have combined the leather with an EVA sole unit to create a formal/casual look.”

Bethan, 23, from Ombersley, Worcestershire, looked into the intricate design and detailing of Japanese kimonos and took inspiration from the colours of the garments to design a slouchy-style ankle boot for young women.

She said: “My MODA project is based on the changing times in Japan and I wanted to include the beauty of older Japan as well as the bustling and energetic contemporary culture.

“I wanted my shoe to be something that could be worn with an everyday outfit but would bring it to life; I always think you can go mad with your footwear: shoes are meant to be fun!”

Beth, 22, from Salhouse, Norwich, chose to explore Chinese heritage for her collection, looking particularly at the Chinese circus and footbinding to create a shoe true to the country’s cultural roots.

“My final shoe uses black silk material embellished with different coloured butterflies – I’ve saved the material for the last four years because nothing else has been special enough for me to cut it up.

“My shoe is very unusual and it has been a lot of hard work to create it so I am delighted it has been chosen for showcase at MODA; it’s amazing.”

Kevin Guildford, Head of Footwear at DMU, said: “This project has given students the chance to show their designs in front of huge industry audience which will open up fantastic opportunities for them.”

Moda Footwear event director Sean O’Connor said: “Students from last year’s footwear design course were invited to present their designs at the August 09 show and we were blown away by the creativity on display.

“Moda is pleased to announce it will now be strengthening its links with De Montfort University with a projectAC that will test students on their innovation and willingness to push the boundaries of footwear design.”

For more information or photos, please contact: De Montfort University Press Office on 0116 207 8099 or news@dmu.ac.uk.

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