Pensole Footwear Design Academy put out a casting call for an unscripted competition series in which young designers from around the world compete to design original sneakers for the prize of being launched and sold at a global footwear retailer, according to Pensole Founder D’Wayne Edwards.
The series, which will be produced through a partnership that includes Pensole, 10×10 Entertainment (producer of America’s Next Top Model) and Largardére Sports, will be filmed at Pensole in Portland, starting February 2017, and for eight weeks will show what it’s like to work as a professional footwear designer.
“For this design competition we are looking for hardworking, highly competitive and highly skilled aspiring footwear designers with raw talent and fun, outgoing personalities,” Edwards said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for designers who are ready to change their lives, because the winner will have his/her shoe sold through a major retailer and will also win cash and prizes.”
Registration for the class is at pensole.com, which includes details on the competition, filming and submission process.
In each of the series’ eight episodes, the students will work on potentially grand prize-winning shoes and have the chance to showcase their skills by creating additional custom-made sneakers for celebrities, who will give the students creative challenges and inspiration for their designs.
Each episode will cover a week-long class, at the end of which the shoe will be finished, unveiled and judged by a panel of celebrities and footwear design experts.
Pensole will provide scholarships (airfare, housing and tuition) for 18 hand-selected aspiring footwear designers to experience Pensole’s nine-week “learn-by-doing” master class, where students are assigned projects to develop from idea to wearable prototype.
