Feminist Artist Amber Vittoria Teams Up With Rollie Shoes
A Sparkly Personality painting by Amber Vittoria
In 2018 artist Amber Vittoria cold-emailed Rollie founders Kat and Jean Lebon after seeing their artist collaboration with Paris based painter Etta Vee. Kat and Jean had just moved to New York from Melbourne, Australia and since Amber was based in NYC, they decided to meet. From there, Amber sent designer Jean Vincent Lebon 3 writing pieces, stories about global feminist issues that were also taken from the artist’s personal experiences.
Amber Vittoria and Jean Vincent Lebon designed the Rollie x Amber Vittoria collection around the artist’s personal stories paired with the feminist narratives in her paintings and illustrations. Three shoe styles that are wearable art speaks to femininity in Vittoria’s signature pastel colors.
“After I met with Rollie, I was walking from home to another meeting and was cat-called. “You have that gym ass, yeah you with the brown purse and blue jeans,” to be specific. How he used what I was wearing to ensure I knew he was speaking to me was infuriating; in turn, these shoes are meant to be worn as a reminder to society that this still happens all too often.”
“My mom used to sing “This Little Piggy,” as she pointed to my toes, and I loved it. It gave me confidence in the appearance of my feet, which were (and still are) on the larger and more hairy side. The societal expectation of women, and their feet, is to be small, dainty, and smooth. This shoe helps remind me to always embrace the beauty of my feet and give them a shoe that champions who they are.”
“This boot is a portrait of a woman with her head amongst clouds (and her literal feet are on the ground). This piece speaks to women who have been told they are too aggressive when asking for what they deserve, for dreaming big.”
From a design standpoint, this collaboration is a right fit. Inspired by travel, Jean Vincent Lebon invented Rollies for his wife Kat (nicknamed Rollie) so she could travel light while jetting around the world as a flight attendant. The collection of premium leather shoes weigh less than a sandal, each built for comfort, breathable lining and memory footbeds. To travel is to live, and Vittoria’s art influences adventurous women to go out in the world, boldly and stylishly.
*Photos courtesy of brand
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