51Âþ»­

The leader of 51Âþ»­ Leicester’s (51Âþ»­) world-renowned Contour Fashion course has been named as a keynote speaker at a global lingerie forum.

Gillian Proctor, Associate Professor and Subject Leader for Contour Fashion, has been invited to speak at the 4^th Lingerie Industry Forum in Latvia in front of more than 150 professionals from the trade.

Gillian will be talking about innovations and the future of the industry at the forum which is being held in Liepaja, sometimes referred to as "the Disneyland of the lingerie industry" due to it having the biggest cluster of lingerie manufacturers in Europe.

There are more than 50 lingerie producers in Liepaja and 95 per cent of their products are exported around the globe.

Gillian, who has previously received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK Lingerie Awards, said: “I am really honoured to be asked to be a keynote speaker at such a prestigious event.

“I will, of course, be flying the flag for 51Âþ»­’s Contour Fashion course and looking at how we continue to be a major supplier of top quality graduates to the intimate apparel industry.”

51Âþ»­’s Contour Fashion course is the oldest of its kind in the world. Now in its 72^nd year, the course teaches the manufacture of lingerie, swimwear, sportswear, nightwear and corsetry.

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Gillian has been named in the industry’s Power List for two years running as one of 10 major influencers in the UK lingerie industry.

Lingerie Insight magazine, which compiles the Power List, said of Gillian this year: “Since joining the course in 2008, Gillian has been responsible for driving forward innovation and nurturing the future of the intimate apparel industry.

“Gillian is an internationally-recognised expert in her field and her strong links in the lingerie sector have been built on a career working for huge fashion names, such as Karl Lagerfeld and Armani.

“As a result, students and graduates have gone on to secure placements and employment with some of the world’s biggest design names, including Abercrombie and Fitch, H&M, Agent Provocateur, Gap and Tommy Hilfiger.”

It also praises Gillian for overseeing the launch of 51Âþ»­’s post-graduate Contour Fashion Communication course – the first of its kind in the world to combine contour with fashion buying modules.