Metallic Fund Wrap Up

This year, as part of the ongoing commitment to the LEED (Leading Education and Economic Development) initiative, Foot Locker partnered with the Metallic Fund to create the first iteration of the Fashion Design Programme (FDP).

To recap, the FDP is a ten-week intensive and immersive educational initiative aimed at young creatives, at the beginning of their career, who have a passion for fashion, and in particular streetwear and sportswear. The aim of the collaboration is to accelerate the careers of some of the UK’s most promising young Black and ethnic minority creatives, providing the tools, platforms and support they need.  

The 6 talented London based applicants who took part in the 2022 FDP include Celine Kreis, Nicole Vernon, Nigel Sununguro Matambo, Niran Nair, Pokuaa Ansere & Tianan Ding.

Mentorship was a key component of the programme to ensure the applicants were getting insight and guidance from leaders in the fashion and streetwear industry. Over the course of the programme, Metallic delivered an incredible roster of 35 different mentors which included the likes of Yoon Ahn (Ambush Design Founder & Dior Homme’s Jewellery Design Director), Errolson Hugh (Co-Founder of ACRONYM®), Tremaine Emory (Founder of Denim Tears and Creative Director at Supreme) Carlos Nazario (Global Fashion Director of i-D Magazine), Guillaume ‘Gee’ Schmidt (Co-Founder of Patta), Florence Tetier (Founder of November magazine and Creative Director of Jean Paul Gaultier) & Rav Matharu (CEO/Creative Director at clothsurgeon) as well as Foot Locker EMEA President, Susie Kuhn.

As the programme comes to an end, we spoke to each of the applicants to hear what the programme meant to them, their biggest takeaways from the 10 weeks and what it meant to be on this journey amongst such inspiring designers and mentors.

Take a moment to tune in and below and stay tuned for the applicant’s collection dropping in the Foot Locker Marble Arch Store in the coming months.