12:00, 23 June 2021
Words by Smiley Team, Staff Writer, London
Crossing continents with support for the LGBT+ community, fashion brand Vans has launched a new shoe collection in tribute to Pride Month. They accompanied the release with a donation of $200,000 USD to four organisations fighting for LGBT+ rights across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific region.
To offer tangible support to the LGBT+ community, the company will share their donation between LGBT+ organisations leading education, awareness building and essential support for queer communities. Its brightly coloured rainbow shoe collection promotes LGBT+ culture further, reinterpreting Vans’s recognisable shapes: the Classic Slip-On, Era, Sk8-Mid and UltraRange designs.
“When I was younger, I was so scared to merge my queer life and my skate life, and to see the two crashing into each other in such a beautiful and organic way is cool,” said skateboarder and campaign photographer, Samuel McGuire who grew up skating in Vans. “To work with a brand that is involved in the queer community and that was so influential in my life is a dream come true.”
As an ambassador for Vans Americas, Samuel will have his work platformed by Vans alongside fellow LGBT+ ambassadors poet Tyris Winter, visual artist Mich Miller, singer and songwriter Serena Isioma, as well as other creatives working at the intersection of creativity, identity and community.
Among the recipients of the Vans funding is GLSEN, a US-based organisation that encourages safe and supportive educational environments for students. This involves research-based approaches to tackling bullying and building acceptance of different sexual orientations and gender identities.
Vans Americas will also support Casa 1, who create safety nets for the LGBT+ community in Brazil, providing accommodation and access to culture, education and health support.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Vans will collaborate with Where Love is Illegal, an initiative led by Witness Change, that involves sharing personal stories of overcoming obstacles faced by LGBT+ people. Inspired by these testimonials, the organisation will work with Vans to illustrate them with 45 window designs across Europe.
Members of the Vans Family in Europe can support Where Love is Illegal, donating via an app points-based system for which every 100 points equates to a €10 donation from Vans to the partner.
Across the other side of the world, Vans Asia-Pacific will promote Tokyo Rainbow Pride’s 2021 “Raise Your Voice. Change The World” digital activation. The project spreads awareness and campaigns for policy decisions that will lead to inclusivity and equality.
The Vans Pride collection is available at select Vans stores and online at Vans.eu. Learn more about their charity partners here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
