The 2025 Cordwainers Footwear Awards took place on 12 June 2025 at Saddlers’ Hall in the heart of the City of London. Originally created to recognise students on UK-based footwear courses, the Cordwainers Footwear Awards have since expanded to include students from a broader range of disciplines.
One of the core functions of the Cordwainers' Livery Company is championing emerging designers. This is the first year CSM entered the awards, with final-year student Geun Ko winning the distinguished Sustainable Footwear Design Award for his modular basketball shoe.
The winning design consists of seven interchangeable parts, allowing users to assemble, repair, and customise it themselves. While traditional shoes rely on adhesives — making repairs difficult and leading to excessive waste — Geun’s design uses data-driven 3D printing to engage users in extending the shoe’s life cycle by easily swapping specific parts.
The inspiration behind his project is rooted in Geun’s love for basketball. He remembers buying his first pair of Jordans with his mum and how that experience helped him overcome his shy personality growing up.
“It was the first time I chose something myself – and it was basketball shoes,” he recalls.
He also noticed that many players owned multiple pairs for different surfaces, which made him question whether the overconsumption of basketball shoes could be addressed through modular design.
As a product design student with a passion for footwear, he often questioned whether he had the talent to pursue it seriously. Geun’s interest in shoes began during military service in Korea, when, after being discharged, he visited a Korean footwear factory and a cordwainer’s studio, asking to be taught how to make them. Over a few summer months, he absorbed all the knowledge before moving to London to begin his studies at CSM. Winning the award was a turning point:
“It made me think—maybe I am quite talented,” he laughs. “Maybe I really can be a footwear designer.”