Prospect 100’s global sneaker design competition has come to a close, as one overall winner and four additional finalists have been announced. Taking home the top honor is UK native Ryan Roddy, who will receive a six-month mentorship from Jeff Staple.
The secondary winners, given mentorship from renowned footwear design school Pensole Design Academy, include Sally Javadi Torabi from Denmark, Michael Cingolani from Italy, Nicholas Greca from the United States, and Blake Scordino from the United States.
Prospect 100’s 2020 sneaker design competition invited aspiring designers from all across the globe — aged 25 and under — to submit a completely original sneaker design to be judged by a panel of industry experts including Sean Wotherspoon, Jeff Staple, YEEZY’s Steven Smith, colette co-founder Sarah Andelman, Midnight Studios creative director Shane Gonzales, Sporty and Rich creative director Emily Oberg, art curator Ruba Abu-Nimah, artist Trouble Andrew aka GucciGhost, Evan Mock, and Highsnobiety’s own David Fischer.
After the panel narrowed down the submissions to 20 semifinalists from 10 different nations, the 20 entries were subjected to a public vote on @prospectonehundred. The winning design from Ryan Roddy received more than 3,000 votes, outshining Sally Javadi Torabi who came in second with over 2,700 votes.
In speaking on the competition, Sean Wotherspoon had this to say: “Honestly, I was mind blown. There’s so much talent hidden in our world, it’s great seeing people like Prospect100 giving a platform for them to be noticed! It was super tough to pick just a few. Shout out to everyone who sent an entry, keep pushing forward, find a manufacturer in China to produce your shoes, make it happen!”
Press play below to hear more about the global sneaker design contest and to meet the overall winner, Ryan Roddy.
