story

I am Julia Lebossé, I am a freelance writer and the founder of Sneakers by Women. I am born and raised in Basingstoke, which is just outside of London.

I created Sneakers By Women in 2020 during the lockdown, and it was just a passion project. and something I saw there was a need for because no one was really talking about women, and I felt that I had no one to look up to either. And I wanted to work within the sneaker industry as well.

So I was like, why not highlight the women that are not being talked about. A visionary to me is someone who is unafraid to go into the unknown and to open things up, or talk about things that have not been spoken about. 

So Sneakers by Women is like an online platform at the moment, mostly based on Instagram, it talks about the women within the sneaker industry. So designers, marketers, developers, anyone within footwear, not just trends or anything like that. 

What I am trying to achieve with Sneakers by Women is have more transparency within the industry, especially because even me I felt like there was a footwear designer and that was the only job you could do in the sneaker industry. But no, there is so many people. It could be like 20

plus people working on one shoe, it could be material designers, and developers, and engineers who do one Air Max. So, there is just so much. A lot of people don't know about that. Especially women, I feel like it is hard to get in that world. I think the impact online is quite big

because I feel like we have got this little community now, of just women talking more and just having other people to talk to. Because it can be quite lonely for women in sneakers, depending on where you work. You might be the only woman in the room still. 

So what I hope people take away from Sneakers by Women is just that they learn something. That is always kind of my goal for either it to be highlighting women or just showing something that you did not know. So Carte Blanche is like a blank canvas, 

and it is going to be a show that is really about the community and highlighting what they are doing, the things they love and who they are. Just a fun and fast pace show, just getting to know them. I feel like I was in such a different place 

three years ago and now already like, "oh, why are you giving this little introverted girl this opportunity to have her own show?" So, yeah, it is just crazy. And I am grateful. Very grateful.

Visionaries

Julia Lebossé