Zendaya is set to receive the Launch of the Year honor at the 2016 Footwear News Achievement Awards.
The actress-and-singer has quite literally dipped her toes into designing shoes with her namesake brand Daya by Zendaya, formally known as Sole of Daya, and is being recognized for her efforts at the annual ceremony. Previous recipients of the award include Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel Zoe and Tabitha Simmons.
“This year has been a big year and I am honored as a 20-year-old to be next to such powerful people in this creative space that I look up to so much,” she gushed to Footwear News.
Created alongside Titan Industries, Daya by Zendaya relaunched this fall (16) with a whole new approach to shoe designing. As well as offering fresh designs, the star slashed the prices of her footwear which allowed them to appeal to a bigger audience, and the whole process has had a positive effect on the Spider-Man: Homecoming actress.
“Since I’m learning more about the making of shoes, I’m becoming more sure of myself,” she noted earlier this year. “I know what I want faster.
“For my demographic, I’m catering to real women who work, are getting their first jobs or are in college. I want them to have shoes that make sense for them.”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Footwear News Achievement Awards, and a host of big names are to be recognized at the glitzy event. Rihanna’s Fenty Puma Creeper is to be awarded with Shoe of the Year, while Nike has been named Marketer of the Year and Salvatore Ferragamo will take the prestigious Designer of the Year accolade.
The event takes place in New York on Tuesday 29 November.