51Âþ»­

51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­)’s Footwear Design course leader has been named one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.

The British Footwear Association (BFA)’s celebrates people from manufacturing, teaching, design, and sustainability.

Nanette Westberg-Brown sits alongside representatives from brands such as Clarks, New Look, All Saints, Marks and Spencer, Nike, Burberry and Dr Martens who all feature in the 2023 guide.

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Nanette, who studied at 51Âþ»­ before going on to work for Alexander McQueen and Kurt Geiger, is passionate about going beyond the classroom to inspire the next generation of designers through outreach programmes and careers events.

She said: “It’s an honour to be recognised and featured in this year’s Footwear 50. The footwear industry is an incredible sector to be involved in, and I’m thrilled to see so many of our talented graduates in successful roles and making a real difference.

“I learnt all about footwear, its heritage and the craft of shoemaking and design during my own studies at 51Âþ»­, so being able to now support and inspire the next generation of footwear superstars is incredibly rewarding.”

It is the second year running that the BFA, which represents WHO, has produced the guide. Winners were announced at a ceremony on November 30.

Last year’s inaugural Top 50 featured 51Âþ»­’s senior lecturer Phil Stewart, who joined 51Âþ»­ in 2000, for his work in sharing manufacturing and pattern cutting expertise gained from working in footwear for leading fashion brands around the globe.

Lucy Reece Reybould, CEO of the BFA, said the guide aimed to celebrate the skills and expertise of a broad section of people working in footwear in the UK.

She said: “There is no single winner here. All 50 people are on the same pedestal for 2023. They’ve each gone above and beyond to bring innovation, ideas and resilience to the footwear sector.

“This was a great opportunity to hear from BFA members and non-members and it has really highlighted how many worthy and talented people there are in our trade.”

Nominations were received from across the sector from manufacturing departments, designers and UK-wide retailers to sustainability teams. Final selections for the Footwear 50 were made from BFA members and non-members, plus the network of partner companies.

51Âþ»­ runs the UK’s only single honours Footwear Design degree, and the university is recognised for having one of the country’s most sustainable fashion and textiles schools for its work to address issues such as fast fashion and tackling the fashion industry’s carbon footprint.