Athletic retailer, Foot Locker, Inc. in collaboration with PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy, announced that the two companies will team up again to sponsor educational programs and opportunities for the next generation of footwear designers. According to their official press release… Foot Locker will help to grow and develop designers at PENSOLE through two new “Fueling the Future of Footwear” Master Classes and the World Sneaker Championships in 2016. Each program offers winning participants the opportunity to have their designs sold exclusively at Foot Locker stores. The first “Fueling the Future of Footwear” Master Class of 2016, in partnership with Under Armour, kicks off today and runs through Jan. 29. In the Master Class, participants will be tasked to create a new Under Armour lifestyle sneaker design – from idea to finished concept. PENSOLE founder D’Wayne Edwards will lead the course, guiding students through PENSOLE’s “learn by doing” footwear design process. “We’re excited to continue our partnership with PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy to encourage the next generation of sneaker designers and further advance innovation in the sneaker business,” said Stacy Cunningham, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Foot Locker. “With this year’s new courses, we hope to inspire footwear designers from across the globe to create some of the industry’s most innovative sneakers, available exclusively at Foot Locker.” The second course with ASICS America will kick off later this spring. Applications for the ASICS course are available beginning Feb. 15. The winning sneaker from the very first Foot Locker and PENSOLE Master Class in 2015, featuring ASICS, will be sold at select Foot Locker stores later this year. The World Sneaker Championships, kicking off on Feb. 5, invites designers from across the globe to enter their sneaker design into the bracket-style competition. Sixty-four designs will be selected and voted on by consumers. A panel of judges will select the final design that will be sold at select Foot Locker stores globally, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the PENSOLE Foundation. For further information, opportunities and more, visit www.footlocker.com/pensole.
