LeBron James Celebrates Women Of Color With His New Sneaker (Photos)

LeBron James debuted his latest Nike sneaker Tuesday night, adding that the shoes are designed and inspired by African-American women. Fans got the chance to ‘meet’ the new sneakers at Harlem’s Fashion Row style awards and fashion show. It was a praise for women of color.

The annual event celebrates people of color in fashion and supports minority designers with a platform to present their collections during New York Fashion Week. Nike sponsored the event, and organized it at the Capitale in lower Manhattan. LeBron used the opportunity to express his admiration for women of color.

“I believe that African American women are the most powerful in the world. Why I believe they are the most powerful women in the world is because I had the example of my mother every single day,” said King James as he accepted the Harlem Fashion Row “Icon 360 Award” for his impeccable style and philanthropy.

LeBron credits his mother, wife and daughter as a source of inspiration behind his new sneaker, the HFR X LeBron 16, named “The Strongest.”

“Being the son, husband, and father of strong African American women, I felt like this was something I wanted to do for them and for all the strong women out there who are succeeding despite what might be stacked against them,” LeBron said.

The HFR X LeBron 16 is the first LeBron signature shoe to be reimagined by female designers.

HFR founder Brandice Daniels created the NYC-based fashion collective in 2007. She recruited three black designers to complete the project, Kimberly Coldson, Felisha Noel and Undra Celeste Duncan. The four women learned how to create a performance show at Nike World HQ, as confirmed by Nike News. They worked with Nike global basketball footwear designer Meline Khatachourian and LeBron’s footwear designer Jason Petrie, too.

“The partnership with Nike came about because a great girlfriend, who I had met years ago, introduced me to [Nike’s team.] Relationships are everything,” Daniels said.

That’s a nice shoe, right?