Collaboration - 6/5/24
Christian Louboutin is honored to be collaborating with his long-term friends, Idris and Sabrina Elba, on a third edition of their invitation to Walk A Mile In My Shoes (WAMIMS), a capsule collection of shoes and leather goods co-designed by Sabrina, Idris & Christian. A hundred percent of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to six charities around the world: The Gathering For Justice, Elman Peace, Immediate Theatre, The Raining Season, Casa 93, and AfriKids.
Challenging someone to walk a mile in your shoes is a bid to think empathetically, especially when it comes to the important conversation around racial tolerance that developed following the death of George Floyd in 2020. The Elbas taking part in a live online discussion that year with Ayo Tometi, co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, was the original seed of inspiration to take action for Christian Louboutin, who was listening in anonymously. The couple were already keen to use their public platforms to raise awareness for social justice, so the urge to take it a step further with a charity collaboration that celebrates this commitment felt like the natural next step.
With the collaboration of Sabrina, Idris & Christian, the initiative helped raise $2 million in just two years. To focus on long- term support, this year’s profits will be donated to six remarkable organisations who have been already part of the WAMIMS initiative and that support social equality and foster young people’s creative development in the US, UK, France, Ghana, Somalia and Sierra Leone.
The starting point for the new collection is a dedicated print that neatly incorporates the WAMIMS acronym into its colourful pattern, as a physical embodiment of the message behind the initiative. The collection itself was co-designed by Sabrina, Idris & Christian who found their inspiration in the codes and colours associated with African culture. Braiding hair is a beautiful and identifiable form of self-expression for many people, but for the trio, using braided elements in the collection is also symbolic of the bond of their strong friendship: “The three of us have such separate identities, but with Walk A Mile In My Shoes, our vision is stronger when connected, which is beautifully symbolised by the braid.”
The print and braids appear on Women and Men Shoes and Leather Goods, and additional personal touches are woven into the collection throughout. The 2002SL Low men’s sneaker, introduced in the second collection, is updated with a design featuring the WAMIMS print, but its name is a reference to Idris’s personal life with the year his daughter was born and his origins in Sierra Leone. The Fatima 120 stiletto heel emphasises Christian Louboutin’s famously confident curves with braided straps and is named after Sabrina’s sister Fatima, while her youngest sister inspired the name of the Hibaq 55, a lower-heeled shoe with straps made of multiple fine braids.
Sabrina, Idris & Christian are committed to making a difference by combining their public voices for a united purpose. Hoping to pave the way with a long-term approach, one hundred percent of the proceeds made from the Walk A Mile In My Shoes collection is directly donated to six hand-picked charities, each supporting their local community with direct action. The collection will be available online and at select Christian Louboutin boutiques on June 5th, 2024. GlobalGiving receives all proceeds from the WAMIMS collection, then distributes to all below charities benefiting from this campaign, under the name Walk a Mile in My Shoes Fund backed by Christian Louboutin and Sabrina & Idris Elba.
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