Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Shoe little beauty...
Ulster student Rachel wins top design gong
THESE are the doll’s house-inspired shoes which helped a student clinch a prestigious title. Rachel Hamill, right, was named National Footwear Student of the Year at a glitzy ceremony in London. The 23-year-old wowed the panel of judges with designs with a doll’s house theme. Rachel, from Portadown, Co Armagh, said: “I still can’t believe I won. Honestly, I was so overwhelmed when they announced my name. I was shaking. “My designs are always fun and colourful – and I think that’s what won it for me. “My portfolio was inspired by the Victorian architecture in Birmingham and London. “There are a lot of buildings that look like dolls’ houses and that became my theme. “I actually started off as an architecture student in Belfast but decided it wasn’t for me. “I took an arts foundation course instead and my tutor told me there was a really good course in footwear at De Montefort University [in Leicester]. “I hadn’t even thought of footwear design at the time, but I love it. When I was younger and people used to say to me, ‘What do you want to do?’ I used to tell them I wanted to be a designer, but I didn’t know what kind of designer. Now I know.” Head of footwear design at DMU Steve Weston said: “We were all extremely proud of the creativity, diversity of design influence and professional execution of the presentation portfolios delivered from all of our students for inclusion to the awards.” Rachel paid tribute to her tutors at DMU, saying they encourage students to express themselves. She added: “The course allows us to be as creative as we want.” Rachel will use a chunk of her £5,000 prize to launch her own footwear label, called Rachel Rose. She also plans to splurge the rest on a treat for her parents.