Following the release of their Summer 2022 “Needlepoint” collection last week, KITH and Vault by Vans waste no time to start their “Love Thy Community” initiative, spotlighting a total of six minority-owned businesses, providing them with the opportunity to design their own collection of footwear and apparel—and keep 100% of the profits.

It’s only been 11 years since head honcho Ronnie Fieg started KITH, growing it from a humble footwear purveyor, to a world-renowned brand and retail destination. Today, as he takes a seat in the pantheon of the fashion world, he’s still connected to the everyday consumer and recognizes the importance of giving back. Thus, the initiative.

The idea sprouted during their 10th anniversary when they started the KITH Community initiative, a nascent form of the titular campaign. Shortly after, Vans started theirs—called “Foot the Bill” in 2020—that bore the same ethos. The latter reached out to KITH to elevate their program resulting in “Love Thy Community”.

The project kicks off by way of Brooklyn Blooms, a floral shop in its Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, started by LaParis Philips in 2017. They’re known for their unique arrangements and warm hospitality, and through the campaign, they get a chance extend their proclivities on the Vans Slip-On.

Brooklyn Blooms’ take on the shoe features vivid flowers on an overall mudcloth print. By the same design, the heels are marked with “STL” and “BK”—an homage to LaParis’ roots both old and new—of St. Louis and Bed-Study, Brooklyn. On the lateral midsole reads “Creating Beautiful Things Out of Beautiful Things”. The tagline is the centerpiece of the accompanying t-shirt in the collection, opposite the store’s floral logo on the chest hit.

The collection will be available from 6th August via bricks-and-clicks, exclusively in-store and at brooklynblooms.com.

Somewhere uptown in Mulberry Street, Aimé Leon Dore teases their upcoming New Balance 650R Heritage.