A STUDENT has been selected to showcase her 1950s-inspired lingerie designs in a London catwalk show.

Northallerton undergraduate, Lauren Smith, 22, has been invited to take part in the event in Covent Garden, which will be attended by VIPs from the world of fashion looking for the next generation of design talent.

The fashion show is celebrating the 70th anniversary of De Montfort University’s Contour Fashion course, which is the oldest such course in the world and was established in 1947 by the British Corset Industry to train workers for the burgeoning local industry.

As part of the celebrations, 21 final year students at the university will dress professional models in their garments for a show in the Grand Temple of the Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden this Thursday.

Lauren Smith, 22, from Willow Grange, Northallerton, attended Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington before university and gained work experience as a bra-fitter at family-run department store Barkers in Northallerton.

Her lingerie collection is inspired by the 1950s and the Ten Pin Lanes bowling alleys in Florida.

Ms Smith, said: “I am very excited about the catwalk show. The biggest challenge I faced with the design was with time management – having to create a six-outfit collection for the first time and designing three graphic prints using Photoshop.”

Graduates from the course now work for labels including Calvin Klein, Gossard and Tommy Hilfiger while others have created their own labels and had their work worn by stars including Beyoncé, Rita Ora and Paloma Faith.