Teen’s Winning Shoe Design Will Arrive at Foot Locker This Weekend
Barbara Schneider-Levy
Senior Editor, Men's and Comfort
Pensole Footwear Design Academy has unveiled the winning sneaker design for its 2016 Pensole World Sneaker Championship Powered by Foot Locker. The shoe will be sold in a limited quantity of 300 pairs at select Foot Locker stores globally an online beginning on Saturday. It retails for $180.
The winning sneaker was designed by Maxwell Lund of Morton, Minn. It was selected via public bracket-style voting from the top 64 finalists around the world. After the consumer voting period closed with two finalists, a panel of industry judges selected the final design.
Lund’s design was handcrafted in Portugal by Portugal Footwear and features a molded EVA outsole, a lasered signature of the winning designer on top of the pull tab, the World Sneaker Championship logo on the heel and metal lace tips. Each shoe is individually numbered on the back of the tongue and comes in a box with straps that convert it into a backpack.
“The World Sneaker Championship changed everything for me,” said Lund. “Before the tournament, footwear design was nothing more than a dream of mine. This tournament has made me believe in myself.”
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The shoe will be sold at Foot Locker stores in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Sydney, London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Portland, Ore., and on online.
“We’re excited to partner with Pensole to bring World Sneaker Championship to the next level by selling the winning sneaker at Foot Locker,” said Stacy Cunningham, VP of marketing for the retailer. “Pensole Footwear Design Academy continues to inspire the next generation of sneaker designers, and we’re thrilled to have some of the industry’s most innovative sneakers available exclusively at Foot Locker.”
Foot Locker will continue its WSC partnership with Pensole for 2017. The top 64 finalists will be announced on Saturday, following the launch of Lund’s design, via a Foot Locker Facebook live stream at 6 p.m. ET. For more information and to vote, visit worldsneakerchampionship.com.
