Foot Locker and Asics are making the dream of two amateur designers come true.
The mega sneaker retailer will be selling a pair of sneakers that two design students from the Pensole Footwear Design Academy made through its partnership with Asics. The "Fresh Up" Gel-180 model is made in part with Foot Locker and Pensole's "Fueling the Future of Footwear" master class of 2016. The designers, master class members, Brady Corum and Vince Lebon were inspired by hip-hop culture and took into account the creative and innovative culture associated with the genre.
Pensole and Foot Locker's Fueling the Future of Footwear Master class program is now entering it's fourth year. Eighteen designers from around the world are invited to take Pensole's three-week design course, split up into teams, and tasked to design against a brief provided by Asics. The winning group gets their Asics sneaker put into production by Asics and distributed at select Foot Locker stores.
“Through our partnership with Pensole, we are proud to support the next generation of global footwear designers that share our same passion for fresh thinking, creativity, and style,” said Patrick Walsh, vice president of marketing for Foot Locker North America. Another "Master Class" Asics sneaker designed through Pensole will release in the back half of this year at Foot Locker.
The Asics "Fresh Up" Gel-180 release will be exclusive to a handful of US and European cities and online at footlocker.com on February 24 for a retail price of $180.
