With its New York summit just a few short weeks away, CultureCon — the conference for diverse creatives and young professionals — has teamed up with Foot Locker on a limited-edition apparel collaboration.
Inspiration for this collection, dubbed “Big Things Start Small,” was the living room of the Harlem, N.Y., apartment of Imani Ellis, founder and CEO of CultureCon, which is where the idea for the conference was born. What’s more, the collection was created to serve as a reminder to the wearer to both persist and to pursue his or her dreams.
“For me, it’s always important to go back to my roots and to reflect on your journey. I can still feel the energy from my living room apartment,” Ellis told FN. “There was something so special about the vulnerability in that space. It’s important for us to remember why we started and what it means to build brave spaces for our community.”
For this collection, CultureCon reimagined several apparel pieces from LCKR by Foot Locker, the retailer’s private label that debuted in 2021. The CultureCon x LCKR by Foot Locker collaboration features several style-driven athleisure pieces, including T-shirts, hoodies and sweatpants. Throughout the range, CultureCon uses its mantras “Nothing Moves Without Us” and “We Are Culture,” a nod to the profound impact Black and brown creatives have had on culture.
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“This partnership showcases how small beginnings can grow into bigger dreams imagined and the importance of teamwork,” Ellis said. “Who could have known that 20 people in my apartment would grow into a global, diverse community? Big things truly start small.”
The two-day CultureCon event in New York will take place Oct. 7-8 at the Duggal Greenhouse, which is located at 63 Flushing Ave. It will feature skill-building workshops, activations and networking opportunities, and CultureCon will introduce its Creative Career Job Fair at the event. CultureCon will close out the two days with its first Creative Block Party on Oct. 8.
“Foot Locker and CultureCon share a passion for creativity, self-expression, and empowering diverse communities, voices and perspectives,” said Foot Locker VP of product creation Ricardo Lajoie. “That is why we are excited to partner to launch this capsule collection that represents diverse creatives.”
Ellis added, “Foot Locker’s commitment to community deeply resonates with our own values. We’re all about celebrating diverse voices and empowering young creatives and through this collection we want to remind all the hustlers, creatives and professionals that big things start small. You can’t time inspiration, but leading up to the summit, we want our community to continue feeling inspired no matter where they are in their own personal journey.”
The collection will be available at CultureCon New York City and online starting today via Footlocker.com.
