LONDON, 4th of October: JCA Master student Sophie Park is to debut the first collection of her eponymous plant-based gender-neutral footwear brand in October 2022. Presented during the JCA x Patrick McDowell x MA Show on the 10th of October, Sophie Park’s debut show will showcase her first collection, 777, that fuses whimsical Wes Anderson-esque symmetry with the ambiguous silhouettes seen often in the work of Rei Kawakubo.

The show will be hosted at the JCA’s spectacular Mayfair campus, a Grade I Period Building where Sophie Park has been studying for the past year. The designer is part of the first cohort of students at the Jimmy Choo Academy in London. She Mastered in Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design and Brand Innovation where she turned her dream of creating a vegan footwear brand into reality.

In Sophie Park’s words, her label pairs: “stylistic originality with rigorous ethics” making it “the perfect collection for fashion-forward individuals who not only reach for their classic go-to staple shoes but also enjoy adding an avant-garde edge to their style by customising their pieces”.

Her collection 777 comprises three staple styles with a selection of unique, androgynous pieces that can be added on, giving the wearer two or more varying styles of shoes in one. The styles consist of a pump, a sandal and a bootie, all featuring the designer’s signature square toes and flared heels.

777 portrays power, sophistication and mystery through its all-black colour scheme and ranges from the smallest ‘women’s’ size to the largest ‘men’s’ size. Instead of traditional animal leather, Sophie Park uses plant-based materials in her footwear designs, significantly reducing their carbon footprint. In this sense, the designer is clear and loud in her belief that “if brands don’t make these changes going forward, they will fall behind.” In this collection, the designer has mainly focused on the use of cactus and looks to explore pineapple and seaweed-based materials for future styles.

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