This category growth just took flight!
Sneaker Culture is seeing a revolutionary resurgence in a major way and the whole industry is capitalizing on it! With the injection of Footlocker into PENSOLE and the rise of the athleisure brands from Beyoncé and Kanye at Adidas, K-Swiss and Puma collaborations, to LVMH and the rise of Fenty, it is no surprise that Sneaker Essentials found an outlet among the sneaker-hungry students of FIT.
Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 MCA In Blue. (Sneaker News)
When I attended FIT’s Accessory program there was that dim disappointment of learning sneakers (tennis shoes) were not covered. And there was no school of “hard-knocks” athletic program in the US. One would have to settle for a job at Footlocker or Modell’s to understand what sneakers were made of. If you had dope sketching skills you might have won a NIKE design competition. And if you were really lucky, you found yourself emersed in the counterfeit sneaker world to get the real scoop.
Today there are so many variables in the growing success of athletic shoes – surgeon style customization, reselling, limited editions, collaborations, branded auctions, buyer bots that are buying all of the exclusives before you can get your hands on them! We can also mention the political and instant rise of diversity within the mega-organizations. So many variables. All are part of a Multi-Billion Dollar segment of the footwear industry.
AIR JORDAN 1. With only 5 pairs made, the proceeds of the sales went to the
V Foundation for Cancer Research (theshoesurgeon.com)
Last-Report’s online footwear course does the due diligence of highlighting the sneaker culture and taps into its’ origin, history and current trends. But this new program could be a game-changer for the SUNY Institution, as well as its extensions with COMPLEX (most noted magazine on Hip Hop Culture and Streetwear) and Yellowbrick (Sneaker Essentials) educational platform.
FIT Accessory Chair, Sara Mullins, and a great guest lineup will teach you the foundation you need to know about footwear and development.
IVY PARK, the first ever athleisure-wear brand for women from a major sports label. (Instagram and all over the Internet)
The program includes 6 courses. Each course is 4-5 hours and is broken into several shorter modules that you complete at your own pace.
- History & Culture
- Design
- Manufacturing & Production
- Distribution & Retail
- Marketing & Brand Strategy
- Media
Graduates of the program earn a non-credit Certificate of Achievement from FIT.
Here is a sneak peak of the 6 course Certification program.
Video Credit: FIT
