The 2024 Cordwainers Footwear Awards will take place on Thursday 13 June, in the elegant and historic surroundings of Saddlers’ Hall, in the heart of the City of London. Open to students of footwear design across the UK, 16 finalists will compete to win the coveted Cordwainers Footwear Awards Trophy. This year’s awards mark a decade celebrating future talent and Sophia Webster will be the keynote speaker. Her luxury brand, best known for her signature butterfly motif, attracts a vast celebrity fan base including J-Lo, Michelle Obama, Katy Perry and Oprah. Barbara Hulanicki OBE, the iconic fashion designer and founder of Biba, will produce sketches of the winning designs, which will be auctioned in aid of Cordwainer charities.
Established in 2014, the Cordwainers Footwear Awards not only offer footwear design students 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.
“Through the awards, we have seen the emergence of incredible talent, innovation and excellence over the last ten years, not least our first winner, the sneaker designer Helen Kirkham,” said Judith Millidge, Master of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers. “In the last decade we have given away over £100,000 of prize money and promoted the careers of more than 150 students, helping them to achieve their dreams of working in the footwear industry or founding their own businesses. We are really proud of that legacy and will continue to nurture and celebrate the talents of the next generation of designers with our annual awards. Britain leads the way in footwear design and the industry is worth over £730 million each year in the UK. The Cordwainers are committed to supporting the talent needed to take it forward.”
Inaugural winner Helen Kirkum said: “Without the Cordwainers award, I wouldn’t have got where I am today. After graduating, I wanted to pursue a Master’s at the Royal College of Art, but I had no way of funding it – until I won the award. The prize money set me on my path.” After completing her Master’s in 2016, Helen was snapped up by Adidas to work at its German headquarters as an assistant designer on its women’s Originals lifestyle range. She now runs her own business in south-east London, Helen Kirkum Studio, which specialises in producing sustainable sneakers from recycled materials.
As well as the main award, additional categories include the Sneaker/Athleisure Award, which recognises the innovative design work in this area; and the Sustainability Award, which promotes the incredible work emerging to produce footwear designs that are environmentally sustainable.
This year, the Sue Saunders Award for Excellence, awarded by nomination to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the footwear trade, will be presented to Sophia Webster. A graduate of the Cordwainers course at the London College of Fashion, Sophia is an entrepreneurial footwear designer with an outstanding global reputation.
Datak Professor Jimmy Choo, a Liveryman of the Cordwainers’ Company said, “I am very proud to be part of the Cordwainers. Congratulations to all the students who are participating in the footwear awards and especially to the winner.”
2024 Prizes
First Prize £3,000
Second Prize £2,000
Sustainable Development Award £1,500 Sneaker/Athleisure Award £1,500
JUDGING PANEL 2024
Preliminary panel: Footwear designer Atalanta Weller
Start Rite’s senior designer Emily Linnell
Main panel: Katie Greenyer, Creative Director, Pentland Brands
Joachim Sedelmeier, Head of Design, Shoes, at Paul Smith Charlotte Olympia Dellal, International designer
Joanne Jørgensen Director, Materials Design, Nike Knit
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Internationally renowned footwear and accessories designer, Sophia Webster.
