LA brand Kids of Immigrants release new footwear collaboration with Vans today!

Kids of Immigrants, the Los Angeles-based brand and collective, released their new footwear collaboration with Vans as part of a campaign called “Work A Day In Our Shoes” available today exclusively through the Greenhouse App and on the KOI website tomorrow, October 3. Staying true to the essence of Kids of Immigrants, the launch celebrates the working class, the immigrant community and all of the people on the margins. It honors the blood, sweat and tears shed by our families and communities to persevere along with the relentless work ethic and drive that we carry on.

Kids of Immigrants has amassed a cult following by placing social issues and community at the core of their work resulting in collections that sell out in just minutes. The brand has garnered praise and support from the likes of Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa, Kehlani, Lil Uzi Vert, Jhene Aiko, Odell Beckham Jr., and many more. The brand has also been featured on HBO’s Insecure and Netflix’s On My Block. Like the history, culture, and beliefs behind Kids Of Immigrants, the brand is unisex and for all people.

The Vans shoe with its unique Lowland CC footwear silhouette served as a canvas which was inspired by the father of founder Daniel Buezo who has been a longtime construction worker. The body is lined with an off white canvas material doused in paint strokes. Each shoe has been personally modified and distressed by members of KOI and will be accompanied by a brush and sandpaper that allows for additional customization. This release will also include a KOI shirt, hoodie and bucket hat that will be available for purchase at Kids of Immigrants. “Work A Day In Our Shoes” has been lauded by Los Angeles Times, GQ, Forbes, Women’s Wear Daily, HYPEBEAST, Nylon, Uproxx, Remezcla and many more.

The campaign features the actual family members of each KOI member as role models, shining a light on our everyday heroes that have long been left in the shadows and have now become the world’s heroes during the pandemic. Kids of Immigrants’ family members include Evelyn Gonzales, a first-generation Mexican-American crew member; Chris Gray, a first-generation Jamaican-Belizian-American owner / operator; Nohemí Buezo, a first-generation Honduran-American BSN, RN, PCCN; and Nai-muh Dennis, a first-generation Liberian-American e-Commerce manager.

In celebration of the partnership, Vans is donating $5000 USD to A New Way of Life, a non-profit that provides support for women rebuilding their lives after prison. Kids of Immigrants will be partnering with A New Way of Life to build a community garden (fruits and vegetables) at the new home in Los Angeles that currently hosts 8 women.

Speaking on the collaboration between Greenhouse, Vans, and KOI, Mel Peralta, Sr. Director of Greenhouse shared, “The Greenhouse team is composed of a first-generation Chinese-American, Brazilian-American and Dominican-American, so working with the brand KIDS OF IMMIGRANTS isn’t just a great partnership, it literally describes us, our families and their respective journeys to the U.S.,” adding that “We’re not only a product incubator, we’re a cultural incubator at heart and in practice. The collaboration with KIDS OF IMMIGRANTS and Vans captures the energy and ethos of what we stand for. We hope people continue to learn more about the vibrant immigrant communities in our country and their importance.”

Each pair of the Vans x Kids of Immigrants collaboration will retail at $100 exclusively on the Greenhouse App, footlocker.com, Foot Locker Compton and the Kids of Immigrants site.