A radical shoe design by a student from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has won the prestigious Drapers Student Footwear Designer of the Year Award 2025.
Jamie Unlu O'Grady won the top award with his design for a shoe that can be taken to pieces so that worn out parts can be replaced.
Jamie based his final-year project around the ten principles of good design, as described by legendary industrial designer, Dieter Rams, famed for his ‘less but better philosophy’. Ram’s principles include: innovative, aesthetic, honest, long-lasting, and environmentally-friendly.
“I've always been into streetwear and athletic designs," explained Jamie. "But really in my final-year project, I wanted to change the way footwear is made and recycled. So I made three shoes and all of them avoid using stitching and glue so you can take them apart yourself, change parts when they wear out.
“When you join with glue and stitching, you have to throw away when the sole wears out. But with these, you can keep the bits that are intact and just swap them with a new sole.
“It was a challenge,” admitted Jamie, “because it goes against everything we were taught about how to make shoes in a more traditional way. One of the benefits of doing something like this is that you get a really interesting aesthetic because of the way it goes together. It looks completely different from everything else. I think it's definitely paid-off because there's been a lot of interest from people at the shows."
Jamie, who spent the penultimate year of his degree doing industry placements at Adidas in Germany, and at the Footsoldiers Design Consultancy where clients include, Clarks, Camper and New Balance, was full of praise for the DMU Footwear Design BA he has just completed.
He said the staff, the access to materials such as leather, and the standard of facilities had all been excellent. He said he had particularly valued the freedom to interact with other creative courses in DMU’s highly-regarded School of Fashion and Textiles.
“I think I didn't fully realise it until this year when I was using all the workshops and I was going into different courses," he said. "I was going into fashion and textiles to use their machines and it was always very easy to ask a student, or ask another tutor, and they would help you out.
“You could stay in footwear, and do everything you need to in footwear, but if you really want to get the most out of the course, it's best to just go anywhere and see what you can do in those other rooms. All the technicians know what they're doing, and they always find time to talk you through things and it doesn't feel like they're rushing.”
Nanette Westberg-Brown, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for BA Footwear Design, said: "Jamie’s double win at Drapers and Fashanne is a testament to his talent, tenacity, and the innovative creativity we champion on our course - qualities that see our graduates go on to thrive in successful careers across the footwear industry."
Jamie, who also won the Fashanne Footwear & Accessory Design Award 2025, is one among many successful DMU footwear students to have the excellence of their work recognised during this year’s awards season.
Len Yuen Liang (known as Dexter) was the joint winner of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers Footwear Awards, alongside Meriem El Ouarrad from the London College of Fashion.
DMU’s James Thrun and Jack Barnsley also received commendations in the Cordwainers awards, which, along with Drapers, are the most prestigious in the world of student footwear design.
Cordwainers are shoemakers - the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers can trace its roots back to thirteenth century. The name comes from the original highly-skilled craftsmen who used the finest goatskin leather from Cordoba in Spain.
Len Yuen Liang (Dexter) picking up the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers Footwear Awards
Elsewhere, James, Jamie, and Dexter were also shortlisted for awards at Graduate Fashion Week 2025, where their DMU Footwear Design contemporary Heidi Walmsley beat them to the Accessories Award for her innovative work.
Judge for the Graduate Fashion Week Accessories Award was Kei Kagami from award sponsor YKK. Kei, who has worked at Galliano’s and studied at Central Saint Martins, alongside classmate Alexander McQueen, said that the four DMU students had dominated the accessories category.
“The standard of the work from DMU was on the next level - absolutely outstanding,” he said.
Posted on Wednesday 16 July 2025