Millie Fullalove

Contour Fashion Innovation MA, student

Millie decided to study the Contour Fashion Innovation MA several years after graduating with her BA, during which time she worked as a commercial lingerie designer and later set up her own successful intimates brand. Millie is motivated by sustainability and community, which drive her work both professionally and as a student. Millie chose to study on the MA to allow her to further investigate these themes academically and to explore how the fashion industry could be better supported to make sustainable choices.

Millie is working to produce a podcast series, both engaging and informative, exploring sustainable issues which fashion companies find challenging. Millie’s aim is to unpick some of the most misunderstood and complex issues relating to sourcing and supply chain, combining her academic research with her network and understanding of the industry. She is developing a toolkit that caters to professionals and start-up businesses, facilitating sustainable processes and highlighting where attention is needed.

Millie has also looked at how celebrity and brand can help make sustainability more appealing to mass markets. Her dramatic stage costumes use upcycled waste and deadstock materials from the Leicester manufacturing community to bring messages of over-consumption to the fore.

Millie plans to continue her work into PhD study following her MA.

“As a mature student, I was at first apprehensive about going back to university, after working in industry since my BA graduation in 2017. However, my concerns were quickly alleviated once I started the course. The vast array of options available for all students are incredible, and that really allowed me to tailor my learning to exactly what I needed and what was going to really help me progress at this time in my life. I am passionate about sustainability in the fashion industry and it was brilliant to discover that the ethical and sustainable issues are at the forefront of our teaching.

I am so excited to get stuck into my final project, writing my sustainable fashion podcast. The facilities at the university are state of the art, and I know will give my podcast and project the high value professional edge it will need.”

“During the MA, I have enjoyed creating resolved solutions to current issues the industry is facing. Working with external client Freetrain was a valuable experience which gave me an insight into how brands work.” As part of her first term study on Contour Fashion Innovation MA, Alicia took part in a competition-based project for sportswear brand Freetrain. Alicia presented her period-proof running legging design at the Freetrain headquarters to senior management, buying and design teams whom she impressed with her astute grasp of the sportswear market and her research into sustainable technologies. Alicia was awarded first place with high commendation and has been invited to spend time at the Freetrain headquarters within the design and buying teams following the completion of her MA.

“I am looking forward to exploring these areas in more depth to develop a viable solution to one of the biggest issues the industry is currently facing.”

Alicia Miller

Alicia is a current Contour Fashion Innovation student at De Montfort University, whose work centres on developing innovative period proof sportswear designed to reduce discomfort experienced from wearing disposable period-products when participating in sports or physical activity.

Alicia has looked into stigmas surrounding menstruation and how self-consciousness is often felt by women and particularly girls during their cycle, which can sometimes be an inhibitor to exercise. Her overarching goal is to promote female empowerment as well as period positivity.

Responsible consumption and production have been important focuses throughout her work and waste has been considered in the manufacturing and construction processes, utilising zero-waste pattern cutting techniques and ethical sourcing of fabrics and componentry. A recycling scheme designed as part of her work facilitates recycling these products at their end-of-life, and to prevent them from ending in landfill.