ST. LOUIS, March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A panel of designers, editors and fashion industry luminaries chose Parsons School of Design student Joo-Huyn Lee as the winner of the first Brown Shoe Student Shoe Design Contest, which solicited original shoe designs from college students majoring in fashion, design or a related field.
Brown Shoe Company, Inc. ( http://www.brownshoe.com/ ) launched the Student Shoe Design Contest in 2005 to recognize emerging talent in the footwear industry. Lee, who is currently pursuing her Associated Applied Science degree in fashion design, submitted sketches of men's and women's ankle boots and women's flats to the competition.
"I've always been interested in fashion accessories, especially shoes. Shoes are the most important element of fashion," said Lee. "I wasn't sure about my future, what I wanted to do, what I wanted to be. The one thing I knew is that I wanted to use my hands -- fashion illustration, drawing. But now, I know I want to be a shoe designer."
The entries were culled down to two finalists, who then submitted a second round of drawings for review. A panel of judges, including designer and talk show host Isaac Mizrahi, Elle magazine creative director Gilles Bensimon, InStyle magazine's accessories editor Alice Kim, Footwear News magazine's fashion director Jennifer Mooney and Brown Shoe's vice president of product development Rick Gelber, selected Lee's designs to win.
"I liked her design aesthetic," said Kim. "It was modern, sophisticated with clean lines but with some link to the past, creating a somewhat vintage approach to design."
One of Lee's shoes will be put into the production process, and a sample will be made. She also received a cash prize of $5,000, and attended the World Shoe Association's Las Vegas shoe show in February as Brown Shoe's guest.
"Recognizing emerging designers is an important commitment for the entire footwear industry," said Gelber. "This contest provides invaluable, real world experience for students, and helps make the industry aware of rising talent ... which just might lead to finding the next legendary shoe designer."
Brown Shoe is a $2.3 billion footwear company with global operations. The Company operates the 900+ store Famous Footwear chain, which sells brand name shoes for the family. It also operates 300+ specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada under the Naturalizer, FX LaSalle and Via Spiga names, and Shoes.com, the Company's e-commerce subsidiary. Brown Shoe, through its Wholesale divisions, owns and markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, LifeStride, Via Spiga, Nickels Soft, Connie and Buster Brown; it also markets licensed brands including Franco Sarto, Dr. Scholl's, Etienne Aigner, Bass and Carlos by Carlos Santana for adults, and Barbie, Disney and Nickelodeon character footwear for children. Brown Shoe press releases are available on the Company's web site at http://www.brownshoe.com/ .
