Footaction, in conjunction with Pensole Design Academy and Functional Apparel and Accessories Studio, revealed today the winner of the No. 1 Way Design Program, a competition featuring students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country. The announcement was made during Style360’s New York Fashion Week event.
Of five finalists, Nachae Davis of Clark Atlanta University took first place. With the win, she was awarded $15,000 and her line will be launched at select Footaction stores and online via Footaction.com for fall ’20.
Chakierrah Stinson of Tuskegee University and Brianna Thomas of Dillard University came in second and third place, respectively. Stinson took home $10,000 and Thomas was awarded $5,000.
The winners were decided by fashion and beauty editor Kahlana Barfield Brown, Pensole founder D’Wayne Edwards and Footaction VP of marketing Richard McLeod.
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Following the reveal, FAAS founder Angela Medlin told FN that Davis hit on three things that are important to fashionable college students today: sustainability, inclusivity (the product can be adjusted to the fit of your body) and athleisure.
“This is the college student uniform. You can wear it in so many different ways for different occasions,” Medlin told FN.
The program was announced in August, and after HBCU students responded to an open call for the competition, five finalists were selected. Those five students participated in a three-week masterclass at Pensole led by Medlin, who helped make their visions market-ready.
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