From Teva to Converse, footwear brands are celebrating Pride Month this June and supporting the LGBTQ+ community with rainbow-colored collections.
Adidas
Adidas’ 2020 Pride collection offers head-to-toe styling with a vibrant array of socks, sneakers, slides, hats, T-shirts, leggings, shorts, windbreakers, sweatshirts and more, all touched by the rainbow. This year’s collection features the Adidas logo with a mosaic or patchwork of different LGBTQ+ flags honoring communities that “unite to make us stronger,” according to Adidas. New product will continue to roll out through July.
Puma
Partnering with long-time collaborator, model and LGBTQ activist Cara Delevingne, Puma released its From Puma with Love Collection, featuring both apparel and footwear.
The 13-piece collection, which retails between $20 and $45, includes graphic T-shirts, hoodies and a pair of Leadcat Slides.
The athletic brand is also donating 20 percent of the proceeds to LGBTQ foundations like The Cara Delevingne Foundation, a project of the Giving Back Fund, GLAAD, the Trevor Project and Mind Out.
The From Puma With Collection released on June 1, while the Leadcat Slides will be available starting June 28.
Reebok
Reebok’s “All Types of Love” collection, which dropped on May 18, updates some of the brand’s most popular sneaker silhouettes, including the Classic Leather, Zig Kinetica, Forever Floatride and Instapump Fury, with vibrant rainbows. It also includes a number of accessories and apparel options.
Alongside the collection, Reebok launched its “Proud Notes” campaign, which gives consumers a chance to talk about their journey to find love through notes written by partners and loved ones. Reebok is also donating $75,000 to the It Gets Better LGBTQ outreach program.
Related Stories
“With a lifelong mission of transforming the lives of others through fitness and wellness, we pride ourselves on celebrating and promoting the figures of this generation who are making the world a more inclusive and welcoming place,” Matt Blonder, vice president of digital brand commerce for Reebok, said in a statement.
Nike and Converse
Nike and Nike-owned Converse are commemorating Pride Month with a pair of collections: the 2020 Nike BeTrue capsule and Converse’s Pride Footwear collection.
Consumers can shop Pride-themed Air Force 1s, Nike Max 2090s and a Nike Air Deshutz from Nike’s collection. The 2020 Pride Air Force 1 style includes a 10-color heel mark distinguished by the “More Color, More Pride” flag, an expanded rainbow flag that incorporates intersectionality through black and brown stripes.
Nike, which has also lent its support to more than 20 LGBTQ organizations, emphasized its commitment to creating safe spaces while focusing its advocacy efforts through sports. Its collection is available in the greater China region on June 5 and June 19 on nike.com and certain retail partners.
Converse, meanwhile, included a range of Chuck 70s and Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers, also inspired by the “More Color, More Pride” flag, in its collection, which launched on May 29.
Converse said it has donated more than $1 million in support of LGBTQ organizations since it began its Pride celebration efforts five years ago. Since then, its advocacy has worked in support of the It Gets Better Project, which will receive some of the proceeds from this collection, along with the Ali Forney Center, BAGLY and OUT MetroWest.
Teva
Deckers-owned Teva’s Rainbow Pride Pack offers four new styles for men, women and children, also in support of the It Gets Better Project, which received a $20,000 donation from the sandal brand when the collection launched on May 19.
The collection includes a pair of Original Universal Rainbow Pride sandals, which will retail for $50 and the women’s Midform Universal Rainbow Pride sandal, selling for $60.
“Teva encourages our fans to express their individuality in everyday life,” said Erika Gabrielli, senior marketing director at Teva. “We are proud to support the It Gets Better Project and their mission to empower the LGBTQ+ community around the world.”
Under Armour
For its Pride Month collection, Under Armour drew inspiration from the original Rainbow Pride Flag, dyed by hand in 1978 “on the rooftop of a community center in San Francisco.” The Baltimore-based athletic brand’s 2020 Pride Collection nods to the flag’s “DIY look” in a variety of clothing, accessories and the UA HOVR Phantom 1 Slip sneaker.
Under Armour leveraged in-house expertise and perspectives to build the Pride-ready sneaker. “Having the opportunity to be a part of the many rounds of design review and feedback gave us ownership of the collection and, at the end of the day, a shoe we are really proud of,” said Perry Williams, senior manager, commercial optimization and former co-chair of Unified, Under Armour’s LGBTQ+ Teammate Resource Group. “I’m looking forward to continuing this partnership with the design team for future Pride collections.”
To complement the new collection, Under Armour also created the UA PRIDE Grant Program, designed to help LGBTQ+ community-focused non-profits suffering financial distress due to COVID-19, in Baltimore and Austin, Texas, areas where the company has a corporate footprint.
Additional reporting by Jessica Binns.