Footaction’s exclusive No 1 Way presentation was a monumental moment as five HBCU students debuted their designs at Style360’s Fall/Winter 2020 New York Fashion Week. The event was held at the Metropolitan West in New York City and was moderated by an industry insider, Kahlana Barfield Brown, who also served as a program judge. Before the winners received their awards, guests were able to snap some pictures at the Smooth Shopping booth and sip on Rosé and Chardonnay.
Footaction in partnership with FAAS and PENSOLE unveiled the designs of five HBCU students from the No 1 Way Design program. The five finalists were Brianna Thomas of Dillard University, Chakierrah Stinson of Tuskegee University, Le’Nora Gray, Nachae Davis, and Sharonda Richardson of Clark Atlanta University.
To commence the evening, the winners were finally announced. The third-place winner was Brianna Thomas, who was awarded $5,000. The second-place winner was Chakierrah Stinson. Stinson was awarded $10,000. The first-place winner was Nachae Davis.
Davis was awarded $15,000 and a retail launch in select Footaction stores and online at Footaction.com this Fall. Focusing on athleisure, Nachae’s designs were on-trend, sustainable, inclusive and made for all women of all shapes and sizes. Davis revealed that she specifically created her designs with polygiene to help deplete odor and prevent consumers from having to wash their clothes as much.
Created to inspire and empower youth culture around the world, Footaction created the No 1 Way brand platform to champion youth culture’s evolving self-expressive style, celebrating individuality and proving that there is No 1 Way to pursue one’s passion. Angela Medlin, the Founder and Director of FAAS at PENSOLE explained that prior to getting into the industry she didn’t have herself as a mentor, which is why she is truly grateful to be able to work with young creatives. “I have given these ladies the rule book. They don’t have to waste time learning on the job. They can go in and hit the ground running and be successful a lot faster,” Medlin said.