Moda teams up with De Montford University footwear students

UK fashion trade show Moda will place a spotlight on footwear designs from students attending De Montford University at its February event.

Taking place at the NEC Birmingham from February 5 to 8, Moda will showcase innovative designs from students on the final year BA (Hons) Footwear Design course as part of a new design competition to find “the future of footwear design”.

The initiative will feature all 16 students on the footwear design course, showcasing their innovative designs, with a focus on nine finalists: Baldeep Nangla (Bobby), Woosung Kim, Gyoungryoung Kwak (Lynn), Cameron Murdoch, Jong Won Kim, Madison Harwood-Scott, Jemma Swales, Jihwi Ahn, and Alfie Payne. Visitors to the show will be asked to vote for their favourite design. The design with the most votes will receive the Buyer’s Choice Award on February 5.

Alejandra Campos, event director at Moda, said in a statement: “We are delighted to collaborate with De Montfort University supporting the local talent and the future designers to the footwear industry.

“The standards were very high and the innovation and creativity from the students is inspiring. I can’t wait to see their work on display at Moda and give these unbelievably talented designers the opportunity to show their work to a global audience.”

The student competition brief was based on the Quagga, an ill-proportioned cross between a horse and a zebra that was native to South Africa and hunted to extinction in the 1880s. The Quagga was one of nature’s hybrids that adapted its size, camouflage, and natural survival capability with its surroundings, and the students were tasked to create footwear that also evolves through certain conditions using a design framework that disrupts the classic creative process.

Nanette Westberg-Brown, senior lecturer for footwear design and programme leader for BA Footwear Design, added: “The Quagga project is a unique concept that allows students to really push their design boundaries and explore niche footwear theories and innovations. The results are equally as unique as the brief.

“The work that the students have produced is a testament to their commitment of footwear studies; having started the programme during the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, they have overcome the challenges of facing reduced access to our facilities and practical prototyping, to excel in their creativity and design ideations. I am incredibly proud of what they have achieved so far, and I’m excited to see where their future careers within the industry takes them.”