Social and Environmental Justice Startup Footwear Brand to Debut its First Product in New York in Conjunction with Established Social Justice Nonprofit founded by Harry Belafonte
NEW YORK, NY – Sept. 12, 2024 – Purpose-driven startup sneaker brand AGENCY Footwear today announced a long-term partnership with The Gathering for Justice (The Gathering), a social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte. Together they’ll launch AGENCY’s inaugural sneaker collection to ensure proceeds from every shoe AGENCY sells directly supports the continuing fight for equity and justice.
“As an emerging brand based on social and environmental justice, we’re honored and excited to partner with The Gathering to launch our sneakers,” AGENCY founder and creative director Mathew Drazic said. “The Gathering’s long standing advocacy for racial justice and building collective power is inspiring and corresponds directly with AGENCY’s mission.”
The AGENCY Guardian Storm is a mid-top, general purpose sneaker with interchangeable purpose-based iconography that uses as many sustainable materials as possible including D-Lite | Plant Based Foam and D-Vine | Plant Based Rubber. It will launch exclusively at Extra Butter in the Lower East Side on October 3, 2024 and will be available for pre-order on agencyfootwear.com starting Thursday, September 19 to coincide with The Gathering’s 19th anniversary event.
Download high-res images and video here.
“It’s always exciting - and a real honor - when a company decides to invest its time and talent with us, and to collaborate in a meaningful way like AGENCY has,” said Carmen Perez-Jordan, President and CEO of The Gathering. “Mr. Belafonte always respected that intersection of art and commerce for a purpose. We built The Gathering for Justice on that legacy, and so it is truly a gift to be working with AGENCY and to have their faith to do great work with this incredible support.”
In allegiance with generations of activists and in parallel with The Gathering’s mission, AGENCY’s goal is to help shift popular culture towards equity and justice. To do this AGENCY’s collaborative launch campaign was created by cultivating community, trusting others and being authentic to lived experiences. Presenting a new landscape “where Activists are Athletes and the Sport is CHANGE”.
The Gathering for Justice was founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005, when he heard the shocking news of a five-year-old Black girl, Jaiesha Scott, being unjustly handcuffed and arrested in her Florida classroom for simply being “unruly.” His vision was institutionalized through the founding of The Gathering, an organization with the rare ability to engage the entertainment industry and leverage the arts to influence public thinking.
About AGENCY Footwear
Founded by Sr Director of Footwear Design, Mathew Drazic, Brooklyn, NY-based AGENCY Footwear LLC is “Inspired by and designed for everyone helping the world: embrace equality, heal the planet, change the system and fix the future.” The startup brand’s way of supporting those already fighting for change every day in a shared quest to create a more just society. Formerly designing for New Balance, Diesel and a number of smaller brands, Drazic originally dove into biomechanics, construction techniques and storytelling. Eventually learning that capitalism is responsible for the social unrest, climate change and mass extinction that we’re experiencing today. Understanding that professional creatives are tasked with creating emotional bonds between real people and soleless corporations, it broke his heart to be a part of that system. So, he decided to switch sides and start designing for the people.
About The Gathering for Justice
The Gathering for Justice (The Gathering) is a social justice organization founded in 2005 by the late great activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte dedicated to shifting culture toward justice in the criminal legal system. Led by Carmen Perez since 2010, The Gathering utilizes Kingian nonviolence as a social application for change and civic engagement. The Gathering works to build and sustain the movement for racial equity and justice in the U.S. by engaging artists and cultural leaders for grassroots mobilization, consulting and advising on legislative initiatives for policy change, and organizing in local, state, and national communities to increase civic engagement.
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Media contact:
John McIsaac • (503) 481-9621 (West Coast) • john@mcisaacpr.com
AGENCY Footwear Launches Sneaker Collection in Partnership with The Gathering For Justice
Social and Environmental Justice Startup Footwear Brand to Debut its First Product in New York in Conjunction with Established Social Justice Nonprofit founded by Harry Belafonte
NEW YORK, NY – Sept. 12, 2024 – Purpose-driven startup sneaker brand AGENCY Footwear today announced a long-term partnership with The Gathering for Justice (The Gathering), a social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte. Together they’ll launch AGENCY’s inaugural sneaker collection to ensure proceeds from every shoe AGENCY sells directly supports the continuing fight for equity and justice.
“As an emerging brand based on social and environmental justice, we’re honored and excited to partner with The Gathering to launch our sneakers,” AGENCY founder and creative director Mathew Drazic said. “The Gathering’s long standing advocacy for racial justice and building collective power is inspiring and corresponds directly with AGENCY’s mission.”
The AGENCY Guardian Storm is a mid-top, general purpose sneaker with interchangeable purpose-based iconography that uses as many sustainable materials as possible including D-Lite | Plant Based Foam and D-Vine | Plant Based Rubber. It will launch exclusively at Extra Butter in the Lower East Side on October 3, 2024 and will be available for pre-order on agencyfootwear.com starting Thursday, September 19 to coincide with The Gathering’s 19th anniversary event.
Download high-res images and video here.
“It’s always exciting - and a real honor - when a company decides to invest its time and talent with us, and to collaborate in a meaningful way like AGENCY has,” said Carmen Perez-Jordan, President and CEO of The Gathering. “Mr. Belafonte always respected that intersection of art and commerce for a purpose. We built The Gathering for Justice on that legacy, and so it is truly a gift to be working with AGENCY and to have their faith to do great work with this incredible support.”
In allegiance with generations of activists and in parallel with The Gathering’s mission, AGENCY’s goal is to help shift popular culture towards equity and justice. To do this AGENCY’s collaborative launch campaign was created by cultivating community, trusting others and being authentic to lived experiences. Presenting a new landscape “where Activists are Athletes and the Sport is CHANGE”.
The Gathering for Justice was founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005, when he heard the shocking news of a five-year-old Black girl, Jaiesha Scott, being unjustly handcuffed and arrested in her Florida classroom for simply being “unruly.” His vision was institutionalized through the founding of The Gathering, an organization with the rare ability to engage the entertainment industry and leverage the arts to influence public thinking.
About AGENCY Footwear
Founded by Sr Director of Footwear Design, Mathew Drazic, Brooklyn, NY-based AGENCY Footwear LLC is “Inspired by and designed for everyone helping the world: embrace equality, heal the planet, change the system and fix the future.” The startup brand’s way of supporting those already fighting for change every day in a shared quest to create a more just society. Formerly designing for New Balance, Diesel and a number of smaller brands, Drazic originally dove into biomechanics, construction techniques and storytelling. Eventually learning that capitalism is responsible for the social unrest, climate change and mass extinction that we’re experiencing today. Understanding that professional creatives are tasked with creating emotional bonds between real people and soleless corporations, it broke his heart to be a part of that system. So, he decided to switch sides and start designing for the people.
About The Gathering for Justice
The Gathering for Justice (The Gathering) is a social justice organization founded in 2005 by the late great activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte dedicated to shifting culture toward justice in the criminal legal system. Led by Carmen Perez since 2010, The Gathering utilizes Kingian nonviolence as a social application for change and civic engagement. The Gathering works to build and sustain the movement for racial equity and justice in the U.S. by engaging artists and cultural leaders for grassroots mobilization, consulting and advising on legislative initiatives for policy change, and organizing in local, state, and national communities to increase civic engagement.
###
Media contact:
John McIsaac • (503) 481-9621 (West Coast) • john@mcisaacpr.com