Advocating for social justice is at the forefront of Idris and Sabrina Elba's minds when it comes to using their platforms. Most recently, the pair joined forces for a third time with long-time friend Christian Louboutin to collaborate on their collection, Walk a Mile in My Shoes.
These capsule collections are exclusively co-designed by Christian, Idris and Sabrina with the firm purpose of donating the proceeds to charity. Over their previous two collaborations, the trio have been able to raise $2 million for various charities. This year, they will be donating 100% of proceeds to six charities around the world: The Gathering For Justice, Elman Peace, Immediate Theatre, The Raining Season, Casa 93, and AfriKids.
The purpose of the collection is to challenge someone to walk a mile in your shoes to evoke empathy, especially when it comes to the vital conversation regarding racial tolerance. Sparked by a live online discussion the Elba's had with Ayo Tometi, co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, as the original source of inspiration. As the couple are naturally very public about raising awareness on their social media platforms, they felt like partaking in a meaningful collaboration to raise awareness was a natural next step.
With this collection, the trio took to a dedicated WAMIMS acronym print as the starting point of the collection. Taking inspiration from codes and colours that are usually associated with African culture. Braiding hair is a traditional form of self-expression for many people. However, the trio decided to adopt the practice as a motif for their friendship, braiding and uniting them together, making them stronger together.
The acronym print and braided motifs appear in their women's and men's shoes, as well as further leather accessories. Personal touches were added throughout the collaboration, with Idri's daughter's birthday inscribed onto the men's sneakers and Sabrina's sister's names, Fatima and Hibaq, inspiring the names of two stiletto shoes.
United in using their voices to make a difference, this collaboration has paved the way for a long-term approach that supports social equality and fosters young people’s creative development in the US, UK, France, Ghana, Somalia and Sierra Leone. Launching on the 5th of June, the collection will be available online and in stores.
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