Pensole Footwear Design Academy are partnering for the second “Fueling the Future of Footwear,” a hands-on, intensive design master classic and contest created to discover and develop the future of the shoe industry.
The Pensole course will be held in Portland, Ore., from Jan. 11 to Jan. 29, 2016. Registration closes on Nov. 22.
A total of 18 students will be selected to take part in the three-week course in a learn-by-doing design program. Students will form teams of three, introducing curriculum about the product creation across footwear design, materials and marketing.
Projects will be briefed by Foot Locker and a vendor partner to be announced at a later date. The six teams will be challenged to create product based on specific criteria. A chosen design will be selected by a panel of judges and sold at select Foot Locker locations with the winning team receiving a $20,000 award.
Pensole founder D’Wayne Edwards has been in the footwear industry for the last 26 years. He created the program to give talented young design students, regardless of their socioeconomic background, an opportunity to learn from industry leaders without financial barriers.
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Since its first class in 2010, more than 100 Academy graduates have been placed professionally, full-time or as interns, for footwear companies worldwide. Companies include Columbia Sportswear, The North Face. Timberland, Converse, Cole Haan, among others.
