Vic Mensa has succeeded in making UGGs cool.
Most people make the mistake of assuming that UGGs are only for girls, but Vic’s definitely flipped the script. Not only is this collection conventionally masculine, it’s anything but basic. This fall collection not only celebrates collaborating with Vic Mensa, but also partnering with Footaction.
Vic Mensa is known for his unique fashion sense, similar to mentor Kanye West, both of whom hail from Chicago and whose collaborative track “All Day” was grammy nominated. The collection showcases Vic’s edgy style as well as his love for his hometown. The campaign features four looks shot all around the city of Chicago. Vic Mensa said he was eager to partner with UGG because “They’re open to trying new things and really pushing forward. When someone like me wears UGG, it’s kind of like repurposing the brand from its original concept, which was made for surfers.” The main looks from the Vic Mensa for UGG campaign include the classic all tan Neumel, the two-toned gray Bute with fur lining, the waterproof leather and suede Roskoe, the simple clean cut Hannen TL and Harkley which is an elongated version of the Neumel. The UGGs alone, are quite stylish, but the way Vic accessorizes them and styles his outfits around the boot adds to their appeal. Honestly you almost wouldn’t believe it’s the same brand when looking at campaign photos.
Last week UGG and Footaction put on a private concert and Q&A with Vic Mensa before his Brooklyn Bowl performance. Hot 97’s own Ebro sat down with Vic to discuss the recent election and protesting before Vic performed. Vic went with hits like “U MAD,” but also performed his rare and unofficially released track “We Could Be Free,” which premiered during the opening act of Justin Bieber’s “Purpose World Tour” Paris show. In signature Mensa style, the track was politically driven, poignant and could not be more relevant with lyrics like “but it’s black lives you refuse include…trying to stop me from voting and stop me from growing and cops keep blowing and blowing.” Vic kept his eyes shut through most of the song which added volumes to the charged lyrics. Vic is very outspoken about social injustice, which seemed to be the focal point of last week’s discussion and performance. “16 Shots” was another political track he played crying out against the indifference towards the violence in Chicago. Vic is passionate in everything he does whether its his music or style. Check out the Q&A with Ebro below:
How did the whole relationship come about?
I was rocking the classics and when they reached out I just thought it was something fresh, something that was left-field that I could reimagine into my own style because the way I’ve always dressed has been different. Like if you woulda seen the way I was dressing in high school I had a big old afro too and all types of bright colors on so it makes perfect sense so when UGG reached out to me I thought it was something that was kind of daring and fresh.
Were you aware of how diverse the styles were?
I wasn’t completely aware of how diverse the styles are but very impressed. As far as the ugg classic being thought of as a woman’s shoe I feel like we’re just coming to a place in society where like all these gender barriers are kind of starting to fall and like disperse and I think that’s dope because I’ve never looked at clothes and thought I should only be able to wear what people think men wear. I don’t think that any woman should be confined to wearing what people think women wear so I’m thinking if I like this shoe, I don’t care if it’s got a 7inch heel on it because if I like it then I like it. I don’t just shop for clothes that are supposed to be men’s clothes and I think it’s dope to be rocking something where I’m the only one rocking it.
Being outspoken and being brave like that played out in your music, at a time when people are looking for someone to be on the frontlines and deal with how real things are socially, what is the energy and what is the vibe you’re feeling on the frontline in protests in Chicago, you’re bringing young people together, you and your music comrades are very vocal about police brutality. How does it feel on the frontlines?
I haven’t been around a lot of people since the election, but in the last year obviously there’s a lot of anger, undoubtedly. I think there’s also a lot of unity and I think that’s what’s going to be most important for us right now, is to unify and regroup and reassess the way we’re going to move forward because I think a lot of the path last couple of years has been anti-police brutality or anti-homophobia, but as we’ve seen anti is not enough we really have to outline what it is we stand for collectively and what we believe in. To answer your question, the energy that I feel on the front lines is something that excites me and empowers me because I grew up studying and reading books about the black panthers as you know or Malcom (X) and the movement in the 60s and 70s and seeing how they were able to create a bigger cultural awareness and a collective thought that was more enlightened than most decades afterwards and I think that we are moving towards a new time like that because we’ve been forced to face all of our demons in America right now and we can’t keep acting like this is some post-racial society. We can’t keep acting like women are being treated as equals because actually our president thinks you can just grab them by the pussy that lets you know that we can’t keep brushing it under the rug. People have been pacified by having a black president, who’s just a figurehead of change that hasn’t happened yet and Hillary would have only moved the pacification into 2017. Right now this is what it is and it’s easier to deal with a wolf in wolf’s clothing than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.