NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2017 /CNW/ -- Foot Locker, Inc.
(NYSE: FL), the New York-based
specialty athletic retailer, in collaboration with PENSOLE Footwear
Design Academy, today unveiled the winning sneaker design for the
2016 PENSOLE World Sneaker Championship Powered by Foot Locker. The
shoe will be sold in limited quantity at select Foot Locker stores
around the globe on Saturday, Feb. 25,
2017.
The winning sneaker from the 2016 competition, designed by
Maxwell Lund of Morton, Minn., was selected via public
bracket-style voting from the top 64 finalists around the globe.
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
FE (For Ever) molded EVA outsole, three different grades of
fine Portugal leather, lasered
signature of the winning designer on top of the pull tab, 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 so it converts into a backpack.
"The World Sneaker Championship changed everything for me,"
said Lund, WSC winning designer. "Before the tournament, footwear
design was nothing more than a dream of mine. This tournament has
made me believe in myself."
Lund's World Sneaker Championship winning design will be
unveiled at the World Sneaker Championship Experience (WSCX) at
NYC33 in New York City tonight.
The one-of-a-kind PENSOLE shoe will be sold at Foot Locker stores
in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., Toronto, Sydney,
London, Paris, Milan,
Madrid and on footlocker.com and
footlocker.eu – with only 300 pairs retailing worldwide for
$180 (USD). For release procedures
and store locations, visit Foot Locker's Launch Locator.
"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,
vice president of marketing for Foot Locker. "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. This year's top 64 finalists will be announced this Saturday,
following the retail launch of the 2016 winning design, via Foot
Locker Facebook Live stream at 6 p.m.
ET. For more information and to vote on the 2017 WSC
competition, visit: https://worldsneakerchampionship.com/
"World Sneaker Championship has continued to grow, and
partnering with Foot Locker has only amplified that," said D'Wayne
Edwards, founder of PENSOLE Design Academy. "With more than 5,700
registrants from over 57 different countries and 300,000 voting
public in 2016, I can only imagine what's in store for this year's
competition. The reach of sneaker culture around the globe is
really amazing to see."
About Foot Locker
Foot Locker is part of Foot Locker, Inc., a specialty athletic
retailer that operates 3,363 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Through its
Foot Locker, Footaction, Lady Foot
Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, SIX:02, Runners
Point, and Sidestep retail stores, as well as its
direct-to-customer channels, including footlocker.com, Eastbay.com
and SIX02.com, the Company is a leading provider of athletic
footwear and apparel.
Additional information may be found at footlocker.com |
Instagram: @footlocker | Twitter: @footlocker #WSCX #Approved |
YouTube: youtube.com/footlocker | Blog: unlocked.footlocker.com |
Facebook: facebook.com/footlocker | App: iOS and
Android
About PENSOLE
PENSOLE's "learn by doing" curriculum teaches students the
entire footwear design process: inspiration, concept-development,
design process, problem solving, materials, business, networking,
marketing, and branding. PENSOLE features the most sought after
faculty in the footwear world, comprised of both young professional
designers and established footwear design leaders from the top
brands, with more than 100 years combined experience to guide
students in their professional development.
D'Wayne Edwards, a celebrated member of the global footwear
community for the last 26 years, founded PENSOLE to give talented
young design students—regardless of socioeconomic background—an
opportunity to learn from the industry's best, without financial
barriers, and to provide the industry with a farm system for the
next generation of footwear designers.
Since the first PENSOLE class in 2010, more than 185 Academy
graduates have been placed professionally, full-time or as interns,
for footwear companies worldwide, including Columbia Sportswear,
The North Face, Timberland, Converse, New Balance, Cole Haan, Under Armour, Keen, Stride Rite,
adidas, JORDAN, Kenneth Cole, ECCO, Reebok and Nike.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pensole-world-sneaker-championship-design-to-launch-exclusively-at-select-foot-locker-stores-globally-300412010.html
SOURCE Foot Locker, Inc.