Student Showcase: April

I'm delighted to announce London College of Fashion's Bianca Laporta as our winning April entry! 

Bianca is currently in her third year studying Contour Design and is sinking her teeth into all aspects of the course. She's recently completed internships for ASOS, Harrods corset designer Lee Klabin and luxury loungewear brand Alöe, with whom she attended Salon De La Lingerie in Paris.

The work she submitted includes a recycled Speedo Lrz Racer swimming costume, pictured below. The end result was made completely from recycled components, carefully heat sealed together to form a modern bikini silhouette.

 

Bianca was chosen as a winner because of her fine attention to detail and the unconventional techniques, which she uses when designing lingerie. Rather than putting pen to paper or using traditional flat pattern cutting, she opts for creative visual methods.

When asked to describe her usual design process Bianca said;

"When I design I find the female form inspires me the most. I love to design to accentuate and to create a piece that will empower the wearer and fill them with confidence. I prefer to model on the stand and take photographs and find that using these methods really stimulates the brain. I find that working on the stand creates a better fit and is also a great way of draping and sculpting fabric, to form a bespoke garment."

Bianca's creativity was demonstrated in her Ballet Russe project, pictured below. Inspired by the Spectre De La Roses, she created a beautiful silk jersey blouson and knicker set, adorned with rouched silk petals at the shoulders and hips. Worn by a Prima Ballerina at the English National Ballet's V&A museum show, the pieces had been bias-cut and hand-stitched to beautifully accentuate her body as she danced.

 

When Bianca graduates she's eager to gain more experience within the lingerie industry, whilst working as a freelance designer at the same time. Her ambition is to eventually run her own small boutique, selling designs from her own label and by other small brands. 

Well done Biance, we wish you all the best for the future! 

For details of our Student Showcase competition, click here.