Aryana, Heather and Leila at the FFANY industry party in June

 Posting this is a bit sad for me because it will be the last posting by my good friend Heather Brady, who up until this past week was a corporate recruiter for Brown Shoe. Heather moved to NYC with her hubby last year because of a job, but then ended up back in her home town of Austin, TX for the same reason. Heather truly enjoyed her position at Brown and loved diving into the world of shoes, but she must move on.   As her parting gift, she put together this last article about Brown Shoe’s annual shoe design contest. Heather was responsible for hosting the two finalists during their whirlwind trip to NYC in June. I asked her to share their stories and give us a little insight as to what the contest is all about. I will do a follow up next week with photos from the winner of the competition.  I wish Heather the best with the next chapter of her life and career!! She is truly an example of a positive, motivating, amazing person and I am fortunate to call her friend! Love you HB!!  -Julia

Brown Shoe Design Contest- Spotlight on Talent!
 

Every year Brown Shoe sponsors a design contest to inspire up and coming shoe designers to put their best foot forward and showcase their design talents. The contest began 5 years ago and was initially piloted at Kent State University. During the second year of the contest, it was rolled out to design schools including FIDM, FIT, Parsons, UCinci, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as Kent State. The grand prize has always been a cash award ranging from $2,000-$5,000.
 

This year the candidates were asked to design a shoe inspired by Fergie, Carlos Santana or Sam Edelman. They had to submit an original design along with a trendboard and a short explanation of where they got their inspiration for the design. The finalists were chosen by a few editors from fashion magazines as well as members of Brown shoe’s design team. Then the finalists were given another assignment and  were asked to design a shoe for Fergie so that the rock star herself could select the winner! They were instructed to design either a wedge, a flat, or a high heeled sandal.
 
 

Although we received many wonderful submissions, FIDM soon to be graduates Aryana Potter and Leila Kerze were selected as finalists. With sketches  and trend boards in tow, they boarded a plane and flew to NYC during FFANY in June to turn in their submissions and spend some time in the Big Apple as part of their prize.
 

Aryana and Leila

Let’s hear from Aryana and Leila themselves as they describe their designs and their experiences in NYC!
 
 

Aryana:

This contest with Brown Shoe Company provided us, as students with some invaluable experiences, and I am so grateful to have been able to participate. In this contest we were asked to create a design, on an existing construction, for Fergie’s new Spring 2010 collection. I chose to look to Fergie, herself for inspiration, since her unique style has an influence on girls everywhere. I attempted to whittle her complex style down to an accessible level, and came up with the concept Urban Avenue, “Where Street Meets Chic”.  Urban Avenue reflects the energy of the underground street life. The bold color choices reflect the unapologetic vibe of the city. Amidst all the lights and hustle a “Street Chic” style is born that captures the city’s rebellious nature. 
 

For the design, I chose to focus on two primary trends, that I observed going on in the market, 1) color blocking, and 2) twisted leathers. Both these trends have been seen all over high fashion recently. Armed with all this information, I began the design process, and was able to create what I believe to be a unique shoe, which captures the essence of Fergie.
 
 

We were flown out to New York for FFANY in early June, where we submitted our designs. We were able to meet, and network with all the most important people at Brown Shoe. The pace was fast, but it was to prepare us for the industry had in store. We were able to attend the FFANY mixer, a roof top cocktail party, where many of the industry heavyweights were gathered.
 

Finally I was able, as the contest winner, to travel to WSA in Las Vegas, where I was able to see my shoe on display with the rest of the Fergie Spring Collection. For me this was the most rewarding part of the entire experience.  Seeing the prototype of my shoe, brought my vision to life, which felt more amazing than I could have ever even imagined, it was a moment that I will always remember. The moment when my dreams became a reality. Overall the contest gave me as a student, a wonderful glimpse into the amazing possibilities the world of shoe design has to offer. 
 

Leila:

My friend, Aryana Potter, and I were the two finalists selected to come to New York from Brown Shoe Company’s nationwide Shoe Design Contest. We both originally submitted entries for Carlos Santana. I designed a high heel suede sandal with a beaded panel on the vamp and thick fringe straps crossing the ankle and extending over the leather stack heel. I used Woodstock 1969 as the inspiration for the design since Santana played there. I used the colors from the original concert poster in the beadwork on the shoe. The themes from Woodstock and Santana’s own background created a sort of bohemian, Native American vibe that is very on trend in today’s fashion. I also painted a concert t-shirt to go along with the shoe. It imitates the Woodstock poster, except in lieu of the white dove on the guitar neck, I painted my shoe in white and wrote, “Peace, Music and Shoes” where the phrase, “3 Days of Peace and Music,” are on the poster. The project was a lot of fun.

The second shoe Aryana and I each had to design was for Fergie’s new line. I used Fergie’s look in the new Black Eyed Peas video, “Boom Boom Pow,” as my inspiration. She wears this fantastic lace up leather arm cuff in the video that inspired me to do a lace up along the back of the wedge. Her top has a bandaged/caged look to it that was the inspiration for the bandage like ankle straps. I chose black and white snake embossed leather since the dancers in the video have these striking black and white striped costumes on. I thought it was appropriate as well since black and white as a color combination is a hot trend right now.

 
Aryana and I went to FFANY in New York, courtesy of Brown Shoe Company with our Fergie designs ready to turn in. Heather Brady of Brown Shoe Co was the sweetest host one could hope for. We first met her along with Geoff Green whom we had met before in Los Angeles, at the China Grill for dinner on Tuesday night as soon as we got into our hotel from our flight. On Wednesday, Aryana and I were rushed in and out of more meetings than I perhaps have been in my whole life, getting to meet and speak with different people in Brown Shoe Co. The whole time, Heather was like our big sister, introducing us to everyone and making sure we were ok. Wednesday night we attended the FFANY after party and then Thursday morning it was back to Los Angeles. It was a whirlwind trip but a fantastic experience as well. My single and solitary regret was that we did not have any time to go shopping!

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It was truly a pleasure to get to spend time with both Leila and Aryana and witness first-hand the passion and excitement they feel for their chosen profession. They were troopers and attended meeting after meeting and then social  event after social event with grace and style. A great introduction to the fun and frenzied world of footwear!   I wish these talented young designers all the best and know they have bright futures ahead of them!!  Great job Aryana and Leila! Congratulations on your graduation and your success!

-Heather