words & images_Nick DePaula
For the third year in a row, the Nike Future Sole Design Competition has grown exponentially, as each year the depth of talent and the sheer amount of participants continually rises. In just a year, the total number of participants nearly doubled, going from 12,500 last year to 22,000 entries this year. Last night marked the 2010 Future Sole Finals for both the collegiate and high school categories, and both Eastbay and Sole Collector were on hand to guest judge each final presentation up close and in person.
With the eight immensely skilled finalists presenting their concept, inspiration and backstory in a 10-minute window inside the Stanford Auditorium at the Nike World Headquarters, only four could be crowned winners, and we’re happy to officially announce this year’s 2010 Future Sole Grand Prize Winners and share their winning designs.
Stay tuned for a full recap of each finalist’s detailed final presentation, first-person experiences from the winners, as well as exclusive shots of both their storyboards and Z-Corp 3D samples.
Nike N7 College Grand Prize Winner – Neil Zemba [with mentor Wilson Smith III]
Jordan College Grand Prize Winner – Christopher Dixon
Jordan High School Grand Prize Winner – Allen Largin
Nike SB High School Grand Prize Winner – Josh Mann
the sb’s are tough… all got that futuristic flow which i guess the name on the contest is future sole
I like the first pair more than others. Congrats to the winners and everyone that participated. Looking forward to seeing more shoes and designs
Congrats to call, my fav is Josh Mann. Great looking shoe Josh.
man o man im the first one to comment this the This is probably the first MELO shoes i like going back to the basic’s like 1.5 but with finesse
I like Dixon’s final rendering of the Jordan, not quite sure what happened between that and the 3D rendering. Regardless, congratulations to all the winners, that’s some good work they came up with!!!
Congratulations fellas. The talent level is impressive to say the least.
Congrats fellas ! Very well done by all of you…..
congratz to all
well done. im feeling the second one more
hope they’ll make it to productions
Wow!!!! Congrats and please make that Jordan.
Great design all round, my favorite’s the Melo’s, they’re really cool, great use of lines, and a great flow throughout.
If I were younger I would have done this. I’m an art student and this is the stuff I dream of.
No way dixon’s under 25.
Some really nice designs from everyone, I wish I was more artistic to do something like this but seeing these, I don’t think I would’ve even had a shot! I’m not even an SB fan, but I’d rock those SBs. And both Jordans look really nice. And overall, the N7 may have been my favorite!
Ok, why do the Melo’s look better than the ones actually releasing?
Can we expect some pics of the renderings behind the guys?
It’s real interesting stuff to get more insight in the process.
Nice work, looking forward to the detailed pics of their boards, some of the earlier concepts and sketches look to hit harder than the final/zcorp versions. Crossing my fingers that they do the same thing as last year’s melo future sole, make a few tweaks and release them!
The SB design looks like it could hit the market and sell instantly. Amazing work on all of them.
THEY HAVE TO RELEASE THOSE SHOES!
Thanks Eastbay! This is one of the reasons I come to this blog. No other site has this info and I LIKE! The future of sneaker design starts with Future Sole. I can’t wait to see where the winners end up. Look at Petrie. From a normal internet sneakerhead to a dominant designer.
Loving the 1st design with the Lunarglide midsole but they are all great designs, these guys certainly have talent!! Congrats to all the winners!!
Congrats to the winners!
Melo pair is beautiful – another successful model for the 2nd time. I’m happy for Melo, he can now wear another great design this upcoming season.
Don’t know if they would be smart enough to make that Melo. Melo and SB are fires.
Chances are good Melo will get ‘em, because he did say he was gonna remain involved, and help FS, and there’s no better promotion than wearing the shoes of course.
I think Melo is questioning the design talents of the in house team.
Awesome designs, these guys are super talented, I would easily rock the 1st pair and the Melos, hope these release for sure.
ALL OF THEM ARE JOKES… Jordan Phase 23 is Genius the syle, what he says, i respect that guys and i know alot of people would buy that shoe. I see Wade wearing that shoe to any game especially the Finals this YEAR BABY CANT BEAT THE HEAT