A De Montfort University (DMU) student will see her footwear and bag designs hit the shops next spring after winning a competition to create a collection for Gola’s 2012 range.
Second-year footwear design student Jennifer Brook was one of 36 students on the course challenged by internationally-renowned fashion brand Gola to create designs that bring the rich heritage of the brand’s history into the 21st century.
Jennifer came out on top when she wowed Gola judges with her innovative designs which take inspiration from sports activities such as running, swimming and the long jump. Designs incorporating the layout of running tracks and prints of the words ‘hop’, ‘skip’, and ‘jump’ are key features of the student’s winning collection.
The 22-year-old from Huddersfield will now see her designs in high-street stores worldwide from spring 2012.
Jennifer said: “I really enjoyed the whole experience of this challenge, from working on the brief to interacting with designers and visiting the head offices in London.
“It’s exciting to know that the designs I created will be available to buy in the shops. My designs are innovative because they integrate aspects of athletic activities with fashionable designs that can be used for branding across not only the shoes, but bags, t-shirts and packaging.”
In April 2011, Gola’s PR and marketing manager Donna Hill and head designer Andrew Sutton invited the students to their studios in London to present their collections and judge the competition.
Donna Hill said: “We wanted to set a brief for a capsule collection that would get people excited about athletics and sport. We were really impressed by the thought process behind Jenny’s designs and were excited to see how she would progress with her idea. From start to finish, Jenny executed her ideas very well and produced something that would work commercially for our target market.”
Jennifer was also awarded £500 for creating the collection, which Gola has named Next Generation to celebrate and represent young and upcoming design talent.
Fellow footwear design student Loretta Glendinning, 23, from Hackney, London, was named the runner-up of the competition, winning £150 for her trainer designs based on vintage styles worn in 1948.
Kevin Guildford, head of footwear design at DMU in Leicester, said: “Gola set an exciting and challenging brief to our footwear design students which was to create a fresh and vibrant collection of shoes and accessories. Jenny created outstanding designs which Gola have included in their range for 2012. The outcome is a fantastic example of how industry and universities can work together to produce an exciting new product.”
