UCLan students challenged to create ‘airport pillow smuggler’

Uclan Students Desktop

Holidaymakers wishing they could take their own pillow away with them could be about to have their prayers answered after a team of fashion students at UCLan University linked up with a Manchester-based pillow brand.

Levitex is working with the Creative Innovation Zone (CIZ) and the award-winning fashion department at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) as part of a live brief to create a wearable pillow, which would be built into a coat, jacket or some other type of outerwear.

The concept would mean travellers could take their own pillow abroad with them without sacrificing valuable luggage space or having to fork out on expensive hand luggage costs.

And students at the university have already started to produce a range of different designs for the project, which Levitex plans to manufacture and launch in early 2022.

“For years, people have simply put up with rubbish pillows in hotels that are usually old, too big, lumpy or totally flat because it’s never been practical to take a pillow away with you, but we’re aiming to change that,” said Levitex founder and leading sleep posture expert, James Leinhardt.

“Our pillows address real issues like neck pain that comes as a result of people having bad sleep posture and sleeping on a poor-quality lying surface.

“Think about how many times you or someone you know has come back from a holiday or a few nights away with a stiff neck or shoulders. It’s all down to bad sleep posture and terrible lying surfaces, so we want to make sure people can easily take their pillows away with them to stop that happening.”

The designs will require students to incorporate Levitex’s innovative polyurethane foam pillow, which comes in four different sizes to suit different body shapes and sleeping positions.

Students are due to submit their final designs to Levitex and the winning design will be announced in January 2022.

“Our ambition for this project is to provide people with the chance to travel with a pillow that is designed to optimise the quality of their sleep,” added James.

“Just like shoes, pillows are not a one size fits all solution. People should be able to take their pillows with them wherever they go and not have to sacrifice their own health and well-being just because airlines place strict limits on baggage allowance. The final product we hope to create will be a legal airport pillow smuggler!

“The Creative Innovation Zone at UCLan works as an interdisciplinary agency to bring together different students and academics to innovate ideas. They facilitated our brief with their highly respected fashion department, it was an obvious choice for us when it came to bringing this new concept to life. Beyond fashion, UCLan has some of the best engineering and bio-mechanics teams and facilities in the country. We’ve worked with them on some very serious projects including evaluating severe stroke positioning, posture interventions for Premier League footballers and mechanical back pain solutions.

“Although this brief is more creative, it is definitely not a gimmick. Through Levitex we’re already working with top professional sports teams and even Team GB stars and the entire ParalympicsGB team took a Levitex pillow with them to the Olympic Games in Tokyo.”

“The consumer world is moving fast so we’re working with some of the best future talent at UCLan to make sure we’re looking to the future, at the same time as educating people about the importance of sleep posture and providing the tools to help them optimise it.”

Emma Speed, director of the Creative Innovation Zone at UCLan said: “We were delighted to get involved in such a highly creative brief. We’re long-term supporters of Levitex and James’ mission. His passion and expertise around sleep posture is second-to-none and being able to help in this way is a brilliant opportunity for our fashion students to launch a new product into the market. The winning design really could be the next big thing in the outerwear market, combining fashion, sleep and travel for the very first time.

“CIZ identifies brilliant young minds here at UCLan and ensures they work directly with employers to shape the innovators of the future. Levitex recognises that we’re incubating the designers of the future and it’s amazing for them to be involved in this project.”

The creative brief is not the first time Levitex and UCLan have worked together. The University played a key role in helping James to produce a conscious patient’s Proning System earlier this year that helped hospital-based Covid patients lie on their stomachs more comfortably so they could breathe and sleep more easily.

Dr Ambreen Chohan and the MedTech Innovation Group led the work alongside James through Levitex’s sister company, Posture Care, with the pressure-relieving cushions now being used at Royal Preston Hospital’s ICU and East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

James also appeared at Lancashire Innovation Festival recently to talk more about the Proning System, creating innovation out of adversity and what he was able to achieve in collaboration with UCLan and the ICU in a matter of weeks.

“I was delighted to talk about the Proning System at the festival as it’s such a good example of how business and academia can work together to find solutions to big problems quickly”, James added.

“We’re really proud of the impact the system had and continues to have, and there’s no question it has helped save many lives.

“Our relationship with UCLan has allowed us to create an independent clinical evidence base for the work we do in sleep posture, which has helped to commercialise our offer with statistics and evidence rather than clever marketing. We also have some other ground-breaking research across multiple sectors including allied health, biomechanics, nursing, engineering, and sport science and we are keen to delve even further into independent clinical research.”

For more information about Levitex, visit www.levitex.co.uk.

LUMS

Enjoyed this? Read more from University of Central Lancashire

Latest news

1

Napthens advises Calico Homes on land acquisition for £23m Dovestone Gardens extra care facility in Burnley Paul Hardy

Napthens advises Calico Homes on land acquisition for £23m Dovestone Gardens extra care facility in Burnley

21 May 2025

2

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway Alan McBride Muse Will Town Defence Infrastructure Organisation Jennifer Chard Defence Business Services Cllr Lynn Williams Blackpool Council Garry Bowker Vinci

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway

20 May 2025

3

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities Skiddle cheque presentation to Alder Hey Hospital

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities

20 May 2025

4

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion The site

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion

19 May 2025

5

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing Oliver Webber, Tracy Clavell-Bate and Tim Webber from Barnfield Group with Cllr Phil Riley, second from right, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing

19 May 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV122 May/June Launch Event
121 Lancashire Business View Magazine Launch
Networking
21 May 2025

LBV122 May/June Launch Event

Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster, LA1 2TY

08:30 - 10:30

Sub36 Networking
Networking
11 Jun 2025

Sub36 Networking

British Jewellery School, Scorton, PR3 1BA

15:00 - 17:00

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference
Net Zero Carbon Social 1200pxtrident 2
Networking
18 Jun 2025

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference

Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley, BB12 0RT

08:30 - 13:00

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers
WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion copy.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
02 Apr 2025 - 08 Oct 2025

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:00 - 15:30

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May
Freelancer Meet-Up May.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May

society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar
LBV Hub Seminars
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar

Cottons Hotel & Spa , Knutsford, WA16 0SU

16:00 - 18:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Mytton Fold, Langho, BB6 8AB

11:30 - 14:15

Liverpool Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-881365363-4862066883-1-original.20241023-085714.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
23 May 2025 - 23 May 2025

Liverpool Business Expo 2025

Aintree Racecourse , Liverpool , L9 5AS

09:00 - 15:00

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29
Artboard 15.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
29 May 2025 - 29 May 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin