13 April 2016, 8:30 pm – AN “ESCOLTA-INSPIRED” sneaker design by Thomasian
architect Arturo Tolentino is among the finalists in the 2016 Pensole World
Sneakers Championship.
Tolentino’s entry was chosen among 64 contenders from almost
4,700 participants worldwide.
His design, which he called “El Porvernir” (The Future), was
also inspired by Elpo, a pioneer rubber shoe company in the Philippines in the
late 1930s. The main design was patterned after the historic street in downtown
Manila, and the product design criteria of Elpo cross-referenced with famous
sneaker trends today.
“To enter the competition, we were required to submit a hand
drawn sketch of our own design based on the given brief,” Tolentino said in an
e-mail to the Varsitarian.
After competing in an online voting system since March 13,
Tolentino is now in the top four of the competition.
“I am grateful beyond understanding on how generous everybody is
with their time and attention [in voting],” he said. “I do not deserve any of
this but I will work as hard as I can to reach our goals and bring attention to
local talent.”
The contest was organized by Pensole, a footwear design academy
in Oregon, USA, to “discover and develop future sneakers designers.”
Voting for the competition is until April 18 and
winners will be announced on April 25. Mary Grace C. Esmaya
