A shoe designed by a University of Nairobi (UoN) student - Cyprian Kavita Kiswili emerged the best in a global shoe design competition.
Mr Kiswili was feted during the gala that was held at Prague’s historic Zofin Palace, Czech Republic, on April 13, 2019.
The art and design masters' student revealed that he had drawn inspiration for the award-winning shoe dubbed 'blossom' from the fullness of the bushy savanna land in Kenya.
"The vast, bushy savanna on the edge of Konzo town in Machakos was my inspiration, specifically the blossoming flowers, the chirping birds, and the lively people and insects," Kiswili divulged.
A Machakos native, Kiswili majors in the medium of painting and digital illustration with the aim of portraying beauty and elegance using a combination of colour, texture, and shape.
Notably, Kiswili was one among two Kenyans whose designs made the finals of the Bata Young Designers Challenge 2019, with fellow UoN student - Anita Wambui, making it to the finals as well.
Upon applying for the global competition back in September 2018, the two were then tasked with prototype production and designing of unique shoes straight from the sketch pad to a physical sample.
According to a local publication, the winning shoe is set to for not only limited production but actual sales at select Bata stores across the world.
The latest global achievement by a Kenyan follows Peter Tabichi's historic Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019 win, in which he bagged Ksh100 million.
The science teacher from rural Kenya won the world's admiration after it was revealed that he usually donates most of his salary to help poor students, and went on to beat 10,000 nominations from 179 countries.
