what in the world am i doing at Paris fashion week? a question i asked myself numerous times this past week while walking the streets of Paris. the short story is that CTC’s fashion brand, LIFE Line was a part of an art installation at a well known boutique store in Paris called, Colette. the longer story is that a month ago LIFE Line’s designer, Chrissie Lam aka The Supply Change, introduced me to Bob Melet while in New York. Bob is a well established vintage designer having worked closely with Ralph Lauren on the RRL line and many others. during our meeting with Bob we discussed several opportunities to collaborate. one of them being his latest invitation from Paris to create an art installation at Colette. Bob thought a blue version of our LOVE bracelet in various shades of blue and in french would be a great addition and the beginning of our partnership. this idea then evolved to an opportunity to actually sell the blue LOVE bracelets in Colette kicking off at fashion week hence the reason for LIFE Lines appearance in Paris.
when the opportunity presented itself, Chrissie and I decided to make the most of it by creating a “LOVE takeover” in the city of love. Chrissie and I worked our networking mojo and last sunday mobilized a team of approximately 20 individuals from photographers to film-makers to artists to fashion designers to students to spend the week working their way through Paris interviewing people about what love means to them. i’m calling it an ever evolving grassroots global art installation of LOVE.
we also hired an American photographer living in Paris, Danielle, for a photo shoot of LIFE Line in the city of love. not only did we shoot our fashion brand, but we also had our partner Browns Cheese ship our black Maasai sheeps milk cheese from Kenya to share with various french communities and take part in the photo shoot. they were a handful of hilarious days to say the least working our way through Paris interviewing locals about LOVE to sharing stories of our mums in Kenya who make the bracelets to filming the french reactions to our Maasai sheeps milk cheese to the art installation event at Colette.
it amazes me what we are able to create when we move past our fears and dive into the space of possibility. this whole week has been possibility creating upon possibility upon possibility. even now Chrissie and I are on the Eurostar train heading to London for yet another possibility that has birthed out of Paris fashion week. when American Eagle caught wind of our “LOVE take over” in Paris they invited us to do the same in London. so now here we are on a train from Paris to London to meet with American Eagles PR team to replicate a “LOVE take over” in London.
yet another reminder how incredible the world is if we are willing to get out of our own way and allow God to move through us. the weeks leading up to this opportunity i kept hearing the little voice in my head telling me, “this is stupid,” “don’t do this,” “this isn’t practical”…etc, etc. and yet had i not said yes our LOVE bracelets would not be in France or in the UK. American Eagle would not have had the opportunity to invite us to London and to continue this ever evolving grassroots global art installation of LOVE. to follow the journey check out the hashtag, #loveisproject on instagram, facebook and twitter.
here’s to LOVE, to taking the risk, to saying YES and allowing God to move through those windows of opportunity to create something beyond what you ever thought possible.
big love,
Z
ubuntu 