Kids of Immigrants and Vans have partnered to create a pair of sneakers. What’s more sneaky is the powerful message behind the collaboration.
Founded by Daniel Buezo and Weleh Dennis in 2016, the Los-Angeles based brand acts as a medium to express their passion to create, empower and love. Their mission statement is simple – “Do the best we can with what we have.” Both first generation Americans, Buezo and Dennis established the company name from what “united them and what makes this country” – that we are all immigrants. Furthermore, they hope to recognise that despite being “from different fabrics [but] together make a whole”.
“Work A Day In Our Shoes”
“Work A Day In Our Shoes” is a take on Van’s Lowland CC canvas sneaker. It is a simple, all-white, industrial palette that awaits customisation. Only 400 pairs are available for sale for US$100. Each pair has been hand-distressed by members of Kids of Immigrants as part of weaving their story into their products.
Buezo said to Women’s Wear Daily:
“The shoe material didn’t distress straight from the factory like we wanted it to look so we took it in. It was five to six days of working 10 hours a day. That process of touching every product and seeing it go forward is huge.”
Particularly, this collaboration is even more meaningful to one of the co-founders. To clarify, speaking to HypeBeast, Dennis expressed his love for Vans growing up. Especially having also worked for the company in the past, he mentioned he’d sold a lot of the classic silhouettes.
Kids of Immigrants x Vans comes via Foot Locker’s Greenhouse program. The program acts as an initiative that pairs big-time labels with up-and-comers. Additionally, Vans has donated US$5000 to A New Way of Life, a nonprofit organisation in Los Angeles that provides support to women after their release from prison.
The footwear collaboration is available from October 2 exclusive to the Greenhouse App and Kids of Immigrants website.
Check out the promotional video below.
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