Inside Pensole Lewis College and Foot Locker’s New Footwear Creation Studio — and a Look at the School’s Other Spaces That Will Open in 2024
Three years ago, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards revealed the Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design, which has already had a tangible impact on the footwear industry from its Detroit home. Looking ahead, the school will have help from Foot Locker to ensure the industry continues to transform.
On Wednesday, PLC Detroit — the country’s first historically Black college and university (HBCU) focused on design — announced the opening of the Foot Locker Footwear Creation Stu/deo. The studio consumes more than 5,000 square feet of design space on campus, which is located at 200 Walker Street and sits along the Detroit River.
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The new design studio, PLC Detroit explained in a statement, will offer its students “a level of access and opportunity that is unmatched in the design field” via shoemaking workshops, sample making services, small footwear production capabilities and more.
“The studio mirrors what we’ve done with the college, trying to create [an environment] that is as close to a corporation you would get,” Edwards told FN. “We want kids to come in here and feel what it feels like to work in a creative office space. With our corporate partners, it allows us to have the same equipment and software that the professional use, and now we’re building out the facilities to mirror that.”
He continued, “If we’re able to give students that same level of equipment and technology, when they get a job, they’re already familiar with the equipment, the vendors, the software.”
Aside from the equipment, materials and technology that is required to make shoes, PLC Detroit’s students will also encounter a special piece of history in the new space. Edwards confirmed with FN that the first, 141-year-old automated lasting machine created by Jan Ernst Matzeliger will be housed within the studio.
Aside from what’s inside the space, Edwards also shared why Foot Locker — a longtime partner of the educational institution — was the right company to team up with to create the studio.
“When it came to building out this space, one of the things I talked to Foot [Locker] about was them getting all the footwear from all the brands — they even have access to prototypes and samples of new releases and stuff like that. That’s the most ideal partner to be in a creative shoe making space with is the company that gets all the shoes,” Edwards said.
PLC Detroit and Foot Locker revealed the studio Wednesday morning during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Edwards, the founder and president of PLC Detroit, was joined by Foot Locker executive vice president and chief operations officer Elliott Rodgers, Michigan lieutenant governor Garlin Gilchrist, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Rocket Companies chairman and founder Dan Gilbert (who is also chairman and founder of the Gilbert Family Foundation).
“Pensole Lewis College and Foot Locker meet at the intersection of empowering and sparking discovery within young people who share a passion for sneaker culture. Respectively, our work meets the needs of the aspiring creative and the loyal customers. As partners, we have the opportunity to bridge the gap and usher in a new generation of talent that can undoubtedly impact the industry,” Rodgers told FN.
He continued, “The Foot Locker Footwear Creation Stu/deo is yet another example of our commitment to move sneaker culture forward, and it is our hope that it will be the launchpad for the next iconic sneaker designer.”
PLC Detroit was founded in October 2021 with support of the Gilbert Family Foundation, which provided $10 million over five years to the school as part of its ongoing commitment to drive access to economic and social opportunity in Detroit as well as Target, which was a founding partner through its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) strategy.
“Detroit is a birthplace of innovation and creation, and this spirit thrives at Pensole as they continue inspiring the next generation of creative thinkers and achievers,” Gilbert said in a statement. “Dr. Edwards’ passion, experience and love of design is unmatched. His work with innovators like Michael Jordan, Nike and others, help PLC students become the designers of tomorrow. Today’s announcement with Foot Locker is another example of the pathways to success that Detroit’s HBCU are opening for students in our city.”
Edwards also confirmed with FN that the Foot Locker Footwear Creation Stu/deo is the first of several spaces that PLC Detroit will create with its partners in the coming months.
The next space, according to Edwards, is an apparel creation studio dedicated to two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter, and that Champion is the sponsor. Edwards said the space will open in May.
Following Carter’s space is the apparel design studio by Carhartt and MillerKnoll that is dedicated to streetwear pioneer April Walker, which will debut in June, and then a footwear design studio in partnership with Nike’s Black Community Commitment and MillerKnoll that is dedicated to Wilson Smith, the industry’s first Black sneaker designer.
“We’re leveraging our corporate partners to build out these amazing spaces so when the students come here they can be inspired to create,” Edwards said.
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.
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