Christian Louboutin, Irdis & Sabrina Elba's Monumental 'Walk a Mile in My Shoes' Campaign
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Fashion designer Christian Louboutin collaborates with close friends Irdis Elba and his wife Sabrina Elba on a superb campaign to support Black activism and philanthropy. The English actor, writer, producer, rapper, songwriter and DJ is best known for his 2018 role in ‘Black Panther’. Elba played the ruler of Wakanda, a fictional African nation with the most advanced technology. French photographer and director Julien Vallon [IG] captures the campaign.
Sabrina Elba spoke with Glamour UK about the brilliantly-conceived ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ campaign from Africa, where she is doing philanthropic work with IFAD — the International Fund of Agricultural Development and the UN.
In the month of May 2021, I found myself in a discussion on The Conversation about the impacts of racism on human health. A Trump-supporting white male piped up about American Blacks constantly playing the victims and my response was “Until you’ve walked a mile in the shoes of a Black person in America, do not be accusing them of playing ‘the victim’ card.”
I didn’t add “those words reveal your own ignorant racism”, but that thought was going through my mind.
100% of Every Sale Supports Racial Justice
Unknown to the Elbas, their close friend Christian Louboutin heard their June 2020 podcast, soon after the murder of George Floyd. Sabrina explains:
“At the time of George Floyd's murder, so many other people were just so disgusted and appalled by what we saw and just wanted to have some open and free conversations with friends. We had an Instagram live conversation in June 2020 with one of the founders of the BLM organization [in America], Opal Tometi, who is such a smart and bright young woman.”
“We didn't know that Christian, who's a good friend of ours, was actually listening in on that [Instagram] live. He called us after and he told us what he thought. He's a very empathetic person, the next day he called us back and said couldn't stop thinking about the conversation and he wanted to do something more.” says Sabrina and then after more discussions, The Christian Louboutin ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ line was born.
A hundred percent of the proceeds made from the ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes’ collection will go directly to five nonprofit organizations. The French-Egyptian fashion designer Louboutin narrates the complete story about the campaign and the charities involved on his website.
The Gathering For Justice, founded in 2005 by Harry Belafonte, fights to end child incarceration while working to eliminate the racial inequities that permeate the justice system; Be Rose foundation, established in 2012 with a clear and singular vision: “To provide hope for people who have given up on life and believe they simply cannot make it“; Purposeful, established in 2016, is a feminist movement-building hub for adolescent girls; Somali Hope Foundation, established in 2018, provides access to free, quality, and equitable education to youth in rural Somalia; and the Immediate Theatre, established in 1996, works with young people and communities in Hackney and East London to ensure access for all artists to arts activities that break down barriers and engage people in debate. [Links end of article.]
This just-released video on YouTube also narrates the story of the campaign.
From StreetsBlog LA to the World Stage
Idris Elba explains that the perfect campaign motto was inspired by his visit to The Walk a Mile in My Shoes public art installation at the intersection of Jefferson and Rodeo in LA. A bronze replica of Dr. Martin Luther King’s work boots, created by artist Kim Abeles, captured his own imagination and resonated deeply in his soul.
As frequently happens in the South African practice of ‘ubuntu’, Abeles’ art project developed big wings beyond MLK’s work boots. We will pick up the story, but you can read about it on StreetsBlog
In 2013, Idris Elba played Nelson Mandela in ‘Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom’. The actor explains that the role changed him forever.
