KOIO Partners With Young Chicago Authors on Sneaker Benefitting Black Lives Matter & More
The shoe is digitaly printed with the words of an award-winning poem.
KOIO is stepping up to help aid in the ongoing global fight against systemic racism. The brand has partnered with youth organization Young Chicago Authors (YCA) on a collaborative shoe, of which 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to YCA, GoodKidsMadCity, and Black Lives Matter (BLM).
Using the brand’s classic Capri Triple White, KOIO and YCA have digitally printed an expressive poem across the pair of sneakers. Written by Taisaun Levi — a student at Crane Medical Preparatory High School in Chicago — the poem was the award winner of the the 2019 Louder Than a Bomb spoken word contest and discusses her experience with language as it’s been taught versus her actual dialect of ebonics.
Yca/Koio
Yca/Koio
KOIO hopes that through the collaboration it can help to highlight “the importance of safe-space programs that consistently work to fight racial inequality and injustice” as it pertains to the youth. Through the forthcoming donations of at least $25,000 USD to YCA, BLM, and GoodKids MadCity, the brand also hopes to fulfill that mission.
“We have been deeply affected by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery,” stated KOIO. “The thoughts shared and actions taken by community leaders dedicated to racial justice made us want to support the work of calling out the systemic injustice that has a hold on the country. ”
The YCA x KOIO sneaker is crafted with Italian full-grain leather and priced at $248 USD. It is available for pre-order now at KOIO’s webstore.
Elsewhere in footwear and fashion news, adidas recently announced a $120 million USD investment in the Black community.
