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A University of Central ������Ƶ (UCLan) fashion student is using her design talents to help people sleep well on the move after working with a Manchester pillow brand to create a travel-friendly ‘wearable pillow’.

Rachel Fernandes was chosen by Manchester pillow and mattress brand to design a wearable pillow garment designed to create a more consistent sleep environment when travelling.

Levitex founder and sleep posture expert James Leinhardt briefed second year UCLan fashion design students with his idea to design a wearable pillow garment to help people sleep better when they’re away from home.

The brief asked the students to create a pioneering concept incorporating Levitex’s innovative foam Anywhere Pillow, which was originally designed to support those with back, neck and shoulder pain. Each student design needed to cleverly deconstruct the pillow into a wearable garment, to allow the wearer to take their ideal sleep surface wherever they go.

Rachel’s Pillow Smuggler Jacket with lumbar support was chosen as the winner and has now been made by Regatta Ltd into five exclusive pieces.

Rachel, 20, who hails from Mumbai in India, said: “When I first submitted my idea, I never really thought about how big it might become. The whole experience has helped me grow as a designer and I feel much more confident as a result.”

Rachel was able to use her dad as a test bed for the Pillow Smuggler Jacket as he himself suffers from back pain.

“My dad travels a lot in cars and by air and complains of back pain a lot so he was the perfect customer profile which helped” she said. “I focused on lumber support so I created a section in the back of the coat where the pillow can be ‘smuggled’ for use anytime, anywhere.”

Levitex founder James Leinhardt said: “It’s been an amazing journey developing the ‘Pillow Smuggler’ jacket and I’m so excited we’ve been able to share it with the world.

“Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of people optimise their sleep posture with the correct sleeping surface, for a better night’s rest. But protecting this routine when on the move has always been tricky, until now.

“Our ‘Pillow Smuggler’ jackets are totally unique and there’s nothing like this in the market right now. With only five manufactured to date, thanks to the amazing partnership with Regatta, we have the amazing students at UCLan to thank for their support in its design.

Jenny Loram-Spring, course leader of BA Hons Fashion Design at UCLan, said: “This was an exciting live brief for our students and a useful learning experience. The student designers have to consider many factors when working with a real client, such a brand requirements, company guidelines and the materials they needed to work with.

“It was important when designing the ‘Pillow Smuggler’ jackets that the students considered functionality as much as fashion and I’m really pleased with how they pushed themselves to create such a high quality final product.”

The student project was initiated by UCLan’s Creative Innovation Zone (CIZ), which links businesses with students who use their skills to overcome challenges and generate creative solutions.

Since Levitex’s Kickstarter campaign to introduce the ‘Anywhere’ travel pillow and the ‘pillow smuggler’ jacket, James has been in touch with major league sports organisations.

James added: “Over the last few months, I’ve been speaking with several professional sports clubs to kit out their athletes with the correct sized pillow so they can take it with them to away games. It’s crazy to think that up until now, what their players sleep on at night hasn’t been a consideration in their overall performance, especially before big games!”