The World Sneaker Championship is aimed to give aspiring young footwear designers a chance to show off their skills, with the chance to have their final designs sold at retail. This year, the challenge was to design a shoe that can be used by a 20-year old male in a city of our choice. The design must be able to inspire the user, exude timelessness, and show a craft of materials.
My admiration for New York City became my main inspiration for this competition. I then had to search for a context that is specific to New York City. A context specific to an area or a group of people makes the design much more special to them.
The Guggenheim Museum is a physical timeless architecture and it has the ability to inspire people. In terms of timeless fashion, I chose the high-top silhouette, which is popular among young adults.
A rough preliminary idea of my design.
I implemented the facade of the museum to half of the shoe’s body. These thick white lines then become the velcro straps of the shoe. The other half and the outer sole are inspired from the interior roof of the museum. The geometric lines of the roof becomes an an imprint on the shoe. These parts of the shoe are made of rubber and nylon materials, for comfortability and ease of breathing.
Out of all the competitions that I have submitted, I feel that the World Sneaker Championship was the one I enjoyed the most. I was not interested in designing shoes; however, because of this competition, it lead me to thinking more about what type of designer I really want to be. Getting into the Top 100 was a great honor, since more than 5000 people around the world have submitted for this competition.
