Ever Thought of Becoming a Sneaker Designer?
Some of these young women hadn't, until they took this class. Hear their thoughts and check their skills!

by Lori Lobenstine

One of the greatest things about running a website is that cool people just find you and share stuff with you. This time this dude named Anthony Cady wrote me to tell me he’d discovered FSF and was interested because he taught a "athletic footwear design" course for the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Well, coordinating with him and his students to pull this little piece together has been a long arduous process, but maybe nothing compared to actually designing kicks! And now here we have it: a story of some up-and-coming female sneaker designers, told in their own words. If any of you have ever harbored the fantasy of designing your own sneakers, this might be one step along the way… And even if you haven’t, it’s pretty funky to see what some fashionistas do when designing kicks!

We’ll start you off with a crazy mix of assorted classwork…maybe these guys predicted the market’s jump-off on wild colors!?

Next up is one student, Coco Ogilvie, who knows how to model some kicks. All you posers, don’t you wish you could pose with your very own?

This next student, Chrissy Alamia, is a hoopster after my own heart. She describes herself as "A CRAZY SHOE FIEND, I'm passionate about it, whether I'm walking down the street, sitting on the train, or sitting in church, I am always checking out people's feet."

In her own words:

"I am really happy with the two sneakers in the picture. It was a huge challenge to make the patterns and then come up with a design. I keep the sneaker design itself simple but used different materials and leathers to make them unique. The best of the design process is lasting the sneakers because they start to take shape and you begin to see what you created. Making the patterns is definitely the hardest part because they must be perfectly straight, even, and everything must match up! Otherwise your sneaker will not look right. I think there are endless possibilities in designing sneakers, from the colors and the materials to the soles and uppers. But what us ladies can do that most men can’t is make them pretty! =) "

Here's some scene setting to picture their work: The lasts, the classroom, and a skiver (!?)

The next student, Jen Heckendorf just cleaned up on a whole bunch of awards to finish off her senior year. Her senior collection was inspired by the old professional women's baseball league.

Professor Cady described our next designer, Juliette Vonhess, as "genuinely a sneaker crazy person".

In her own words:

"I could never understand what attracted me to sneakers, I always went for the craziest color combinations while my friends all had plain black. Then I found my first pair of baby shoes, you know the ones parents hide away so when you’re 15 they can surprise you with them and tell you all sorts of baby stories. There they were, white on white Adidas shell toes with a pair of fat red laces. It all made sense, why I’d put the Flava Flav clock on my sister’s Ken doll, and why I always wanted a pair of purple and white Jordan 1’s. As I finish up my BA in accessory design from FIT, I know that my inner sneaker freak will guide me as I try and make the jump to being a personal stylist."

One student, Hara Koo, was pregnant with her first son during class. She was not allowed to work in the class during times when they were using glue and other chemicals, so she worked on her son's first sneakers instead:

Stephanie Tannenbaum, now interning at Kenneth Cole, also did some children's sneakers. The middle sneaker (see detail below), was made to LOOK like it had laces, but actually worked with a hidden velcro system beneath them.

Jaci Fischer says she is "without a doubt an absolute sneaker and shoe fiend!!! I always match my sneakers with what mood I am in when I wake up in the morning. That’s my excuse for having so many!!"

In her own words:

"I grew up on the Jersey Shore and have always been into sports and the skater and surfer scenes. It has always been a dream of mine to work for a company like Quicksilver or Billabong, and if I could design sneakers for them that would be awesome!! We need more women in this field, especially talented artists. Most of the people who work for sneaker companies have Technical Design Degrees. That’s great, but I think we need more unique artist and designers out there."

Another part of these students' work was drawing their sketches. Here is a sketch by Hani Koo.

(Too bad she put those bad boys on her feet and ran off before they could be photographed!)

Our final featured student-designer is now interning at Kate Spade. Crazy about sneakers, she said " after taking an athletic footwear class at FIT, I discovered a hidden interest and skill I didn’t even know I possessed. You could say a new passion."

In her own words:

"In my free time, I found myself sketching athletic footwear and thinking about the engineering that goes into each design. I enjoy seeing the sketch evolve and unfold into reality. When designing a sneaker there are factors involved such as durability, resistance, traction, ventilation, absorption, and of course comfort. These factors are all important and must be taken into account.

My white mesh/silver vinyl sneaker is inspired by a classic men’s oxford shoe. However, by updating the silhouette and incorporating new fabrication and texture it takes on a “cool sporty” look. I decided to keep the sneaker simple, modern, and fresh. What I love most about my sneaker design is its diversification. It can go from a run to the supermarket to a round on the green."

And then there's sneakers that might go just as comfortably from a goth prom to a Halloween party...

To me it goes to show that we really haven't seen anything yet! These funky new designs remind me how hard it is to really get it "right", but also how much room there is out there for us to see some really new stuff. You go girls.

[For anyone interested in learning more about FIT and/or this sneaker design course, check out: fitnyc.edu]

With much thanks to FIT Professor Anthony Cady,who really believes in and supports these young designers, and FIT Accessories Design Department Chair Ellen Goldstein.