The Footwear of the Future!

A Sorrell Foundation partnership with PENSOLE USA footwear design fellowship programme held at the University of Oregon, has provided a scholarship for one talented UK design student. Samuel Pearce, a former professional footballer and student of footwear design at De Montfort University in Leicester, won a national competition to take part in the programme, which begins on 21 June at the university in the city of Eugene, Oregon.

Described as ‘a world-class full-immersion footwear design programme’, the course is led by an acclaimed team of designers and guest speakers, including D’Wayne Edwards, Footwear Design Director at Nike Jordan Brand and founder of the PENSOLE USA programme. They will lead Sam and his fellow 39 students through a rigorous fortnight of tuition, covering everything from hand-drawing skills to materials design, colour theory and professional networking, and including an inspirational trip to Nike World Headquarters.

Sam, pictured above with John and Frances Sorrell, is thoroughly excited about the prospects that the scholarship brings:

‘When I heard about the scholarship that the Sorrell Foundation was offering, including the chance to travel to the home of Nike and work with D’Wayne Edwards, I realised the magnitude of the competition. To work with Nike and JORDAN brands would be the pinnacle of a career in footwear design, and to have this opportunity before my career has even begun is a dream come true!’

For an update of Sam’s progress on the PENSOLE programme, watch this space.

News Archive