AN UP-and-coming Kidderminster fashion designer is already catching the eye of trendy celebrities.

Layce Humphreys, 23, is also getting ready to display her range of dresses, skirts and swimwear at a showcase for young talent running alongside London Fashion Week.

Miss Humphreys graduated from Wolverhampton University with a degree in fashion and textiles last year and has now launched Dentelle Bleue, a women's wear collection.

She said sales were "quite steady" but she hopes they will take off as Towie - The Only Way is Essex - stars Imogen Leaver and Grace Andrews have two of her garments on loan to wear to events.

Purple-haired American singer songwriter Paula DeAnda has tweeted wearing one of Miss Humphreys' swimsuits.

"As a little girl I was always interested in dressing up and I'm quite creative," said Miss Humphreys, who lives with her parents, Mark and Michaela Humphreys, in Wolverhampton Road, Broadwaters.

"Now I'm getting a thrill out of being part of the fast-paced environment of fashion. I'd love my clothes to be placed wholesale into department stores."

The former Wolverley CE Secondary School pupil chose the name of her brand from "dentelle" - the French for lace, after her own first name - and the French for blue, a slight mis-spelling of her 26-year-old sister, Bleau.

Her designs, which, she said were "inspired by architecture", mainly in monochrome colours, are manufactured into garments in China before being imported back to the UK.

She said she was aiming for a "fusion of creative expression and enduring style" in her range of pret-a-porter clothing and swimwear.

Her website Dentellebleue.com went live in June.

She has worked hard, with the help of her public relations adviser, to persuade the Towie stars and Paula DeAnda to wear her garments.

Her label will showcase at the London Fashion Week Off Schedule event on September 14, which attracts fashion journalists, buyers, celebrities and bloggers.

Dentelle Bleue will also feature in Essex Fashion Week, on October 4, which was first launched on Towie.