HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William on March 3rd worked with Footwear Design students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) to create a pair of children’s shoes.
He saw the bespoke shoes being handmade at the British Government’s Great Festival of Creativity in Shanghai as part of a VIP tour. During the event, to showcase the very best of British creativity, the Duke was able to punch holes into cut leather as part of a brogue design, based on a concept by third year student Bethany Roberts.
Bethany from Ruthin, North Wales, said: “I’m so happy that my shoe designs were seen by The Duke of Cambridge – what an amazing thing to be able to put on my CV when I graduate this summer and begin my career.”
As well as taking part in crafting the shoes, the Duke was shown the university’s innovative Footwear Design, Contour Fashion and Game Art exhibitions. DMU students displayed a range of designs, as well as a special children’s last – a moulded shape used by shoemakers in the manufacture of footwear. The last will be used to complete the shoes in the coming weeks.
The DMU Footwear Design stand at the festival is showcasing the process of designing and creating a different shoe each day, live, in front of festival attendees.
The Duke was also able to see an example of a completed men’s classic formal welted shoe, designed for the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dominic Shellard, by DMU student Vickie Thornes.
Professor Shellard, who met Prince William ahead of giving a keynote speech on preparing graduates for work in a global environment at the festival, alongside the CBI and BAFTA said: “The first thing we talked about was the theme of the footwear display, the design of a quintessentially British shoe, the brogue. He showed an interest in the fact that I was wearing a pair of black brogues made by Vickie and he compared the brogues he was wearing to mine, saying his were chunkier!
“When I told him that one of our students had designed a pair of bespoke children’s shoes inspired by Prince George, he laughed and I said we would send the pair of shoes for his second birthday in July. As Charlotte Hackett showed the Duke how to punch a hole in the leather, he also joked that George had got enough holes in his shoes already.
“I told him that one of our student’s designs for a bespoke child’s shoe had been in the colours of Aston Villa, but that we had decided not to show him that, in case it reminded him of their league position! He said that actually that would have been great as he was trying to convince George to support Aston Villa.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are fantastic ambassadors for British creativity, and I am honoured that our students have been able to take part in this event during his visit.
“Our core mission at DMU is to ensure that our students are equipped with the skills to make an impact on the world, both in their future career, and in their contribution to society, and what better way to do this than give them this unrivalled experience.”
Prince William met DMU students as part of his tour of the venue, following on from Footwear Design student Becka Hunt’s creation of a blue stiletto for the Duchess of Cambridge in 2012, when she visited the university with Her Majesty The Queen to launch the Diamond Jubilee Tour.
As the UK’s only higher education partner for the festival celebrating creativity and business, DMU is exhibiting work from five subject areas: contour fashion, footwear, game art and drama, as well as the invention of the artificial pancreas.
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