For Women's History Month, start up Sneaker-Lab asked five women, including me, to each design a collection that tells a story about who they are and what inspires them. The collection was produced in collaboration with Nike iD, and was released on International Women's Day, March 8th, for one week only. 

Since this is my first solo footwear collection, I wanted to make sure it looked like me and my brand. I've often had people ask why I don't have merchandise so I wanted to make sure it included elements that I'm known for - my shegotgame tag, the color red and a mix of athletic and fashion fabrics. 

The “shegotgame Phoenix” capsule collection is inspired by the phoenix as it burns brightly before turning to ash and being reborn. As an entrepreneur, I often feel that my career is in a constant state of renewal, from 2017 to 2018. The phoenix represents passion, purpose and progress to me - passion in chasing my dreams, purpose in finding my path and progress in constantly evolving and growing. I’ve been able to turn my dreams into reality in 2018 by obtaining a work visa to work in the US - something that I chose to do, after seven long years. So I’m donating 10% of my sales to the ACLU to help other dreamers rise up and achieve, since many didn't choose to come here, I want to make sure they're able to stay and be successful.

The Air Force 1 High “Purpose” is inspired by the phoenix as it burns to ash. The use of black represents the strength within one’s purpose and the commitment to let go of distractions in order to move forward, like the the phoenix rising.

I picked the Air Force 1 High as it was introduced as a performance basketball shoe, but is now primarily a style staple - mixing function with fashion.

To celebrate the collection, I shot a lookbook with renowned fashion photographer Darrel Hunter to help tie the three shoes together visually and to express my style, my story and show others how to wear the shoe with different kinds of looks. 

I’m hoping to use this collection as a case study for continued design work in the footwear industry and to empower other young women to use design to tell their stories and claim their stake in the sneaker world.