D'Wayne Edwards Discusses What It Takes to Be a Successful Footwear Designer

D’Wayne Edwards tells his rags to riches story of how his passion for footwear design led him to places far beyond his imagination. Arriving at LA Gear in ‘89, Edwards became one of the youngest professional footwear designers at the age of 19, filing sketches of footwear models and absorbing the necessary details of being a professional designer. Continuing to hone his craft, Edwards made the jump to Jordan Brand in ‘01 as a design director and took notice of various online sneaker blogs filled with young design talent. This led him to launch his current dream, Pensole — a design academy focused on guiding young talent to positions in the world’s top athletic and footwear companies through challenging curriculum courses and a two-week intensive program with adidas. Founding Pensole and channeling his passion to the next generation, D’Wayne Edwards sees his life coming full circle as he continues to write his never-ending success story. Head over to The Hundreds for the full feature.