Foot Locker announced the winning sneaker design for the 2016 Pensole World Sneaker Championship in partnership with Foot Locker on Thursday.
“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, Foot Locker vice president of marketing. “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.”
The winner, Maxwell Lund of Morton, Minn., created the sneaker in Portugal by Portugal Footwear and boasts a FE molded EVA outsole, three different types of Portuguese leather. As the winner, the shoe features Lund’s signature lasered onto the tongue of the shoe and the World Sneaker Championship logo on the heel, along with metal lace tips.
“The World Sneaker Championship changed everything for me,” said Lund. “Before the tournament, footwear design was nothing more than a dream of mine. This tournament has made me believe in myself.”
Lund’s design was selected out of 64 finalists across the world, and voted through initially by the public through a bracket-style voting method, and eventually a panel of judges.
“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.”
The limited-edition shoes sell exclusively in select Foot Locker stores across the globe for $180.