Miami Dade College’s Miami Fashion Institute students had a distinctive opportunity to collaborate with Ishikawa, the innovative footwear brand established by Italian designer Angelo Lupis. The session went beyond the classroom as it offered an opportunity to sharpen creativity and craftsmanship while teaching the importance of giving back to the community.
Miami, March 17, 2025: Ishikawa x MFI collaboration at The Show Miami
The key event was the Ishikawa x MFI collaboration workshop on March 17 at The Show Miami, which enabled students to personalize the brand’s signature sneakers in an exceptional experience. Under Angelo Lupis’s mentorship, students transformed plain sneakers into artistic footwear, which displayed their personal creativity and style. The participants explored the complete design process through this experience, which entailed more than simple customization and included both conceptualization and practical execution.
Italian Craftmanship & Japanese Inspiration
Ishikawa demonstrated contemporary design philosophy through its combination of Italian craftsmanship and Japanese-inspired aesthetics. The Miami Fashion Institute students experienced design and creativity through Lupis’s commitment to comfort and quality materials combined with his distinctive style.
The workshop’s impact extended beyond creative expression. The student-created sneakers were auctioned to fund scholarships for Miami Fashion Institute’s students. Miami’s evolving fashion scene demonstrated its community focus and collaborative spirit through this “paying it forward” initiative. Students gained knowledge while simultaneously providing valuable contributions to upcoming fashion designers.
The Italian fashion industry veteran Angelo Lupis used his extensive experience to guide students through mentorship and knowledge sharing. The mentor’s involvement highlighted both the significance of skilled craftsmanship and how design can establish connections between different cultures. The students obtained irreplaceable insights into both sneaker design and the business principles and philosophies of present-day fashion brands.
Miami Fashion Institute students received a rare chance to connect academic learning with industry practice through their partnership with Ishikawa. The partnership demonstrated how industry collaboration can both inspire and educate future fashion leaders while providing them with essential empowerment skills. The crafted sneakers transformed into physical manifestations of potential and innovation while showcasing Miami’s design scene’s promising future.
In the era of misinformation, Ava's single objective is to celebrate fashion, emerging talents, diversity, and inclusion. Also, she attempts to open an honest dialogue around the controversial and hypocritical matters that torment groups or nations, discussing facts rather than mere ideologies or idiocracies. Ava is also an avid ice cream connoisseur.