The contest, in its second year, hopes to help bridge the industry’s demographic gap by encouraging students to consider career opportunities in the field of footwear design. This year, the contest is co-sponsored by Jordan Brand, Nike and NIKEiD.
Future Sole was created in 2007 by D’Wayne Edwards, Jordan Brand Footwear Design Director, in an effort to provide youth, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, an increased access to education with a career in footwear design in mind.
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t a forum to learn about the footwear design industry or a community to share design ideas,” said Edwards. “Many kids don’t know a career in footwear design exists, so with Future Sole I wanted to open their eyes to the possibilities and show them how they can achieve it.”
To enter the contest, students must be in high school between the ages of 14-19 (as of April 1, 2009) in the United States. Interested students can log on to the Future Sole website, FutureSole.com, and download a template for creating their design. Entries will be accepted through July 1 or when the first 1,000 entries have been received, whichever comes first.
A team of Jordan Brand and Nike footwear designers will then review the top designs, narrowing the pool down to six semifinalists in each category. At that time, the public will have the opportunity to vote for the top two finalists in each category by visiting the Future Sole website.
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