NEWS


Cordwainers Footwear Awards celebrate future talent with two brand new categories


T


he 2023 Cordwainers Footwear Awards will take place on Wednesday 7 June at Merchant Taylors’ Hall, Threadneedle Street in London – and this year there are two new award categories.


Fifteen student finalists from the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London and De Montfort University will compete to win the coveted Cordwainers Footwear Award Trophy.


Established in 2014, the Cordwainers Footwear Awards are recognised by industry leaders as a celebration of emerging student talent. Not only does it offer them significant cash prizes and the chance to earn industry recognition for their work, but finalists are also given the opportunity to gain mentoring experience from some of the best names in the British footwear industry.


There are two new categories for this year. The first is the Sneaker/Athleisure Award, which recognises the innovative design work in this area of footwear. Secondly, the Sue Saunders Award for Excellence is a new prize, which will be awarded by nomination to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the footwear trade.


Sue Saunders was an inspiring teacher and mentor, a shining light of the footwear world, and this special award honours her memory. “We need to ensure that the footwear industry has really bright talent for the future, and what better way to do it than with these fantastic awards,” said Lucy Rees-Raybould, CEO of the British Footwear Association.


Added John Peal, Master of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers (which is a City of London livery company that was granted the


Above: Nicholas Fowler


right to regulate the footwear trade in the City in 1272): “The awards are always a riot of colour, innovation and excellence and I can’t wait to see what our students produce this year. “We are proud to embrace initiatives that will engage the top designers of tomorrow.” In other news, Joanne Jorgensen, Materials Design Director (Footwear) at Nike, has joined this year’s judging panel.


She commented: “I feel very privileged to have been invited to judge the incredible work of so many talented students who have participated in the Cordwainer Footwear Awards 2023.”


Ms Jorgensen joins Katie Greenyer of Pentland Brands, Joachim Sedelmeier, Head of Design, Shoes, at Paul Smith, and Charlotte Olympia Dellal, international designer, on the 2023 judging panel.


Above: Cordwainers Awards 2023 Judges


Heavenly Feet announces expansion into the US L


eicester-based footwear brand, Heavenly Feet, has announced its expansion into the US market, having appointed new agents.


Heavenly Feet’s product portfolio is known for the superlative fit, offering comfort and style hand in hand.


Gaining traction online throughout the USA, this development for the brand comes as the business is celebrating impressive year-on-year sales growth and has also said it is looking to grow the brand to a new customer base and add to its stronghold of independent retailers. Additionally, the business has just unveiled a brand new range of accessories on its website,


including branded jewellery and a line of bamboo and bamboo-silk blend scarves. Priced from £14.95, they complement the Summer range just launched by Heavenly Feet. Ken Gray, Director of Heavenly Feet, commented on the expansion: “This is really exciting news and we are so thrilled to be able to offer our wonderful range to customers in the US. We hope this is the start of more growth for the brand following on from a really strong period in recent years, and we are hoping to


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expand into more markets in the future!” Heavenly Feet is currently stocked by over 350 retailers and suppliers in the UK and said it will continue to take on more UK stockists as well as its expansion to the US.


The company has been trading since 2002, creating vegan-friendly shoes which focus on putting comfort and affordability first thanks to its latest technology that creates “the perfect fit”.


You can also see the brand – alongside a huge amount more – at the next Footwear Today Live show, taking place on Sunday 3 and Monday 4 September 2023 at the National Conference Centre Birmingham.


JUNE 2023 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • 5


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