The 2025 Cordwainers Footwear Awards will boast an array of talent, bringing together some of the brightest names in UK and international footwear design over the last 40 years.
It will also introduce the inaugural Craft of Shoemaking Award, sponsored by bespoke shoemakers Carréducker. This year’s keynote address will be given by fashion, footwear and accessories luminary, Patrick Cox, and the Company’s Sue Saunders Award for Excellence will be given in person to shoe legend Datuk Professor Jimmy Choo OBE.
Kristina Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik, and Sophia Webster, Founder and Head Designer of her own celebrated brand, headed up the judging panel for the 2025 design finalists. 34 design students entered the 2025 competition with a range of submissions described as “simply stunning”.
Jonathan Church, Co-Director of Cheaney’s and Master of the Cordwainers for 2024-2025 said: “It has been a privilege to witness the growth of the Cordwainers Footwear Awards. This country is a market leader in footwear design and manufacture in an industry worth over £730 million in the UK alone. The Cordwainers were founded to support footwear and that commitment to excellence and talent continues. We should celebrate the heritage craft of footwear design and manufacture in the UK.”
The footwear design award is open to students of footwear, art, and product design across the UK and this year 15 finalists will compete to win the coveted Cordwainers Footwear Awards Trophy. New for 2025 is an additional prize – The Stuart Weitzman MA Award – which recognises the designs of MA students. The design awards offer students significant cash prizes and the opportunity to earn industry recognition for their work. Finalists also gain mentoring experience from top names in the British footwear industry with the opportunity to network with market leaders.
As well as the main design award, additional design categories include the Sneaker/Athleisure Award, which recognises the ongoing impact of sneakers on the international footwear and fashion market, and the Sustainability Award, which asks students to think about the environmental impact of their design solutions.
The Cordwainers Footwear Awards 2025 will take place this Thursday (12 June) at Saddlers’ Hall in the heart of the City of London and close to Cordwainer Ward – the historic location of shoemaking in the City for more than 700 years.
Barbara Hulanicki OBE, fashion designer and Founder of Biba, has provided the graphic for the 2025 event.
