Oscars gift suite will feature shoes designed by Brooklyn teenager: "Is this even real? I can't believe I'm here"
NEW YORK -- A Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, teenager is making a name for herself; she's being featured at the Academy Awards in March, but not for her acting chops -- for her shoe designs.
It's a big step in her fashion career; fourteen-year-old Amira-Dior Traynham-Artis is making moves in Hollywood with her shoe line, which is being featured at the Oscars.
"Oh my gosh, the Oscars," Amira-Dior said.
A few years ago, the middle schooler started designing clothes and shoes, and came up with her company, called Lane 1.
"This was the first shoe that I made ... I love, like, nude colors," Amira-Dior said.
Her mom could see she was serious about it, so they found a manufacturer in Italy.
"Basically what we do is we design the shoe online ... It's made to order," Amira-Dior said.
She built a website and turned her birthday party into a brand launch party, and her shoe line took off.
The management company S.W. Roseburgh found her, and then just few weeks ago, they called Amira and her mom with an offer they'll never forget.
"They would like you to come out to L.A. and provide this sneaker for celebrities attending the Oscars," mom Kenesha Traynham-Cooper said. "I was like, 'What!?'"
"Is this even real? I can't believe I'm here," Amira-Dior said.
She's hoping some big celebrities notice her shoes and wear them on the red carpet, especially one in particular.
"I love Zendaya so much," she said.
Now, with help from another local Brooklyn brand -- Gernie Company -- Amira's focused on getting 75 shoes exclusively made just in time for the Oscars, where they'll be on display in the DPA Luxe Gift Suite in the week leading up to the award ceremony.
"For me, no matter what the task is, if I really have my mind set on it, especially when it comes to art, I'm going to do it," Amira-Dior said.
She says being an Oscar-worthy designer means big shoes to fill, but she has no doubt she will.
