How a teen sneaker designer from Brooklyn snagged a spot in the Oscar gift bag

How a teen sneaker designer from Brooklyn snagged a spot in the Oscar gift bag

She’s put her heart and sole into it.

Amira-Dior Traynham-Artis, a 14-year-old entrepreneur from Brooklyn, will have her custom sneakers featured in the gift bags at the 2023 Oscars.

The teen says having her Lane 1 kicks offered up as congratulatory swag for A-listers such as Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh and Austin Butler is a dream come to true.

“When I first found out my shoes were going to be gifts at the Oscars I actually didn’t know how to react,” Traynham-Artis told The Post with a laugh. 

“I was like, ‘Wait, is this actually happening? Is this real life?,’” chuckled the seventh grader from Bed-Stuy. “It was so exciting.”

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Traynham-Artis has been invited to present her sneakers as gifts to Oscar nominees at the 2023 Academy Awards.Traynham-Artis has been invited to present her sneakers as gifts to Oscar nominees at the 2023 Academy Awards. Kevin Bollers Photography
She began designing sneakers 18 months ago, and has since launched her Lane 1 footwear line.She began designing sneakers 18 months ago, and has since launched her Lane 1 footwear line. Kevin Bollers Photography

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Her mother, Kenesha Traynham-Cooper, first recognized the girl’s innate knack for making posh prints when she was just 3 years old. As a hobby, the pair would often redecorate drab heels, flats and slingbacks into flashy showstoppers, adorning them with faux feathers, glitter and rhinestones.

And as Traynham-Artis matured, in both age and artistic skill, Traynham-Cooper began encouraging the creative to pursue her passion for design as a businesswoman.

“I realized Amira-Dior had an eye for art and fashion,” the mother, an assembly district leader, told The Post. “It was important for me to nurture that gift.”

So, one day in late 2021, she surprised her then-12-year-old with graphic design computer software and a peculiar question.


Traynham-Artis hired an Italian manufacturer to help bring her designs to life thanks to help from her mother Kenesha Traynham-Cooper (left).
Traynham-Artis hired an Italian manufacturer to help bring her designs to life, with help from her mother Kenesha Traynham-Cooper (left).

“My mom randomly asked me if I wanted to make shoes, and I was like, ‘Sure,’” Traynham-Artis recalled.

“At first I was just sitting in front of my laptop, and I really didn’t know what to do,” she continued. “But then, I started thinking about what kind of shoe I’d like to wear that’s not [already on the market] and different colors that I think are cool.”

After a few hours of tinkering around on the computer, working to perfect the funky pizzazz of her first-ever high-tops, Traynham-Artis decided to launch Lane 1 — a name influenced by her professional mission to carve out her own “lane” of coolness.

“When I commit to something, I give it my everything,” she said. “And after I made my first design, I knew this was something that I really wanted to do.”

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Traynham-Artis's shoes are all made-to-order by expert leather artisans in Italy.Traynham-Artis’s shoes are all made-to-order by expert leather artisans in Italy.
Traynham-Artis began designing sneakers during the winter of 2021, after years of helping her mom decorate shoes for fun.Traynham-Artis began designing sneakers during the winter of 2021, after years of helping her mom decorate shoes for fun.

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Traynham-Cooper helped the then-preteen secure manufacturing with leather shoemakers in the Le Marche region of Italy.

And now, 70 pairs of Traynham-Artis’ sneakers, in collaboration with Brooklyn-based men’s fashion house Gernie NYC, will be exhibited in the Dubois Pelin and Associates’ luxe gift suite during the 95th annual ceremonies, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. 

In January, Traynham-Artis was invited to display her shoes by the DPA group, a global branding company, after her management team introduced the company to her colorful high- and low-top kicks — which, for those who won’t be in attendance on Hollywood’s biggest night, range in price from $150 to $250 and are exclusively available for purchase online. 


The Gen Z fashionista partnered with men's fashion label Gernie NYC to create stylish designs to be showcased as freebies for Oscars nominees.
The Gen Z fashionista partnered with men’s fashion label Gernie NYC to create stylish designs to be showcased as freebies for Oscars nominees. Instagram

“I am very grateful for this opportunity,” said Traynham-Artis, who points to the vibrancy and artistry of her close-knit neighborhood as her source of inspiration for Lane 1 designs. “The people in my community are like my family,” she chimed. “They’re all so creative and cool, and when I see them making new art or playing new music, a spark goes off in my head that makes me want to design.”

And she hopes to introduce that NYC-drenched style to young Hollywood’s elite.

“I’d love to see Zendaya, Skai Jackson, Jenna Ortega, Marsai Martin and Michael B. Jordan wear [my sneakers],” she gushed.

The teen dreams up new sneaker patterns after attending class at Workshop MS and finishing her homework, then sends the designs to the European craftsmen for production. 

And although balancing her schedule between academics, hanging out with friends and helming an international footwear house is often challenging, Traynham-Artis says setting an example for other teenage go-getters motivates her hustle. 

“I want to inspire young people like me,” she said. “No matter where you are, your age or where you come from, you can do what you anything — even make it to Hollywood.”