We had lots of one-to-one support, the course has amazing industry connections and it was completely invaluable for learning the intricate techniques required for lingerie design.” “I wouldn’t be where I am today without studying Contour Fashion at DMU though. “Although I always knew fast fashion wasn’t for me, those experiences were good ways of learning about the luxury lingerie market from a different perspective and building relationships with brands that I’m still in touch with now,” she said. Nearer the Moon is very much about lingerie for the wearer, which avoids the male gaze and redefines erogenous zones.”Īfter graduating into the 2008 economic recession, Tilly spent a year and a half working as a pub manager, before moving on to manage an exclusive London boutique.įrom there, she became a retail manager for a high-end, high street lingerie brand, and then ended up starting her own label. She said: “My designs are revealing, often cupless and crotchless, yet elevated by luxurious silk fabrics and good quality hardware. Tilly started her degree at DMU in 2005 and joined the burlesque society, but, in recent years, has evolved her style to make it more refined. The aim is to eventually open my own atelier with everything made in-house by skilled local people and by up-skilling local people.” “I genuinely never want to mass manufacture and stock my designs in department stores. And I don’t just mean the people buying or wearing my designs, but for everyone down the supply line.
She added: “It’s not sexy if someone else isn’t having a good time.
Her use of slow fashion hashtags are what got Tilly's brand noticed by Vogue, as she strives to make her brand sustainable as possible, sewing each individual design to order and creating collections from fabrics often destined for landfills. That’s exactly what Nearer the Moon is all about.” “I’m a big fan of her music anyway, but to be one of the brands chosen for a shoot that was all about changing the way she wanted to be perceived by the world means so much to me. My knees buckled and I cried with happiness when I realised why, and that Billie Eilish was the one wearing my designs. Tilly said: “At first, when the editor in chief at Vogue tagged my brand on Instagram, my heart sank as I thought I was being cancelled. Tilly Tomkins was a Contour Fashion student at DMU between 20 (Image: De Montfort University) This had a big impact for Nearer the Moon, giving Tilly a 300 per cent increase in sales and enabled her to hire her first freelance assistant. The shoot introduced a new look for the singer, who has just been announced as one of the headline acts for Glastonbury 2022, and quickly went viral. In the headline-making photoshoot, Billie Eilish's outfits featured Tilly's black and dusky pink suspender belts in satin alongside pieces by big design houses such as Valentino and Agent Provocateur. “It’s always been a dream of mine to feature in Vogue as they rarely use small independent brands, so it was never an option to say ‘no’ despite the challenges." “I was given a broad brief and a croquis with a person’s measurements, from their head circumference to their shoe size, but had no idea who it was for. Tilly, from Oxfordshire, said: “I had just two business days to design, make and deliver my suspender belts in a range of colours, which was even more challenging during lockdown. READ MORE: Discover education stories on Leicestershire Live
The Contour Fashion graduate was contacted via the Instagram page of her 'tasteful erotic' lingerie brand, Nearer the Moon. Suspender belts designed by a former student of De Montfort University were part of Billie Eilish's 'iconic' Vogue photoshoot published over the summer.ĭMU alumna Tilly Tomkins, 34, said she had no idea she was designing the outfit for the chart-topping singer-songwriter when she was first approached by a fashion assistant at Vogue.
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