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Contour Fashion graduate from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has launched her first lingerie collection just one year after graduating.
Roshni Desai graduated from DMU in 2019 and has been working freelance ever since, while searching for her dream job.
When COVID-19 hit, in April the 22-year-old decided to take matters into her own hands and set up her own lingerie business working from home.
Fast forward six months, her first lingerie collection can now be found on ASOS Marketplace and her Etsy shop for people to buy.
Included in her collection, Roshni has designed a special bralette for women who have undergone breast cancer surgery, something close to her heart for personal reasons.
“My bralette style design was designed in mind for breast cancer survivors. It was inspired by a family member who felt extremely uncomfortable finding nice lingerie to suit her after she’d had multiple operations,” she said.
“The only bra she could wear was full cup. The bralette I have created is fully lined with mesh for comfort, has no wires in so it’s very flexible for the wearer and provides support for them whilst they’re recovering.
“I wanted to design something very pretty yet practical for them.”
Roshni said she began working freelance after she graduated.
She said: “I found it quite difficult to get a job at first as they all required a lot of experience. I started looking into smaller companies and doing freelance work with them.
“Around April time, when COVID hit, things became more difficult so rather than sitting around and waiting for a job to come along, I took matters into my own hands.”
She continued: “I actually started out thinking, ‘I will set up on my own and sell what I can for now’ but it has quite quickly become a full-time thing.
“It is something I thought I would do a few years down the line, not as soon as I graduated.
“It’s happened now and it has kept me busy, it has kept me in touch with a lot of my contour skills as well, rather than sitting around and hoping for a job to come my way.”
Roshni prides her collection on being suitable for everyone, all shapes, and sizes.
She said: “All my bras are adjustable they can fit up to four sizes per bra and up to two sizes per knicker, which creates less waste as they are multisize.
“People are able to buy something that fits their needs.”
The first batch of stock only arrived two weeks ago and Roshni has been spending her time preparing it ready for ASOS and Etsy, including a photoshoot where she hired current final year DMU Contour Fashion students to do the shoot.
She said: “I studied with these students even though they were two years below me, I wanted to keep everything local.
“I know these students and I know they have done this kind of work before and that was really important to me. We hired a mini golf place in Leicester for the shoot and got it all done in one day.”
She added: “One of the main things I wanted to include in my business is to be plastic free and use recyclable packaging. I want to make sure that my packaging is not wasteful and can be reused or recycled. The adjustable sizes my collection comes in even helps reduce waste too.
“I am proud of myself and I am definitely trying to make the most of this year.”
Roshni’s lingerie collection can be viewed on ASOS Marketplace and her Etsy shop.
Posted on Friday 23 October 2020