Guided by our purpose of inspiring people to shine confidently with every step, Stuart Weitzman is celebrating Pride Month — both with our SW shoes and with our SW team. We kicked off the month with the drop of our limited-edition Pride sneakers, in which 100% of net profits will be donated to the It Gets Better Project, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting, connecting and empowering LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. To celebrate our partner's powerful mission, members of Team SW came together in our New York City showroom to share what Pride truly means to them.
“For Pride Month, I wanted to create something to remind us all that PRIDE is LOVE and that loving ourselves is the first step to loving everyone else. It is important that we feel proud of who we are. Pride makes us feel exuberant and ready to face anything that comes our way. I hope these sneakers inspire everyone who wears them with joy and love. After all, a new pair of shoes is a great reason to go out and have a good time. It’s all about being OUT!”
Edmundo Castillo
Global Head of Design
(He/Him)
“I think it’s important for me to represent who I am: I’m a woman, I’m Latina and I’m a lesbian. I was raised with the odds against me so I want to stand here, with confidence, for everyone that’s out there like me. Pride is a celebration of how far we’ve come and the future we’re creating. We’re all in this together.”
Gabrielle Quiroz
Executive Assistant to Edmundo Castillo, SVP
Global Head of Design & Peter Nichols, SVP Global
Merchandising
(She/Her)
“I represent a gender-fluid non-binary person and, if it weren’t for fashion, I would have never understood my gender identity in the first place. Working for Stuart Weitzman, I love that I’m empowered to be myself authentically. I can wear a heel, I can wear a sneaker — there is no limit to how I can showcase my persona. Sure, when people see me, they may see something they’re not really used to. But I want people to know that if I can do it, you can, too.”
RJ Crossley
Store Manager, World Trade Center
(He/She Him/Her)
“When there’s so much hate happening in the world right now, I love that Pride Month is a time when we can all come together to celebrate a community that’s all about love. I want to support that message as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community because it makes me feel like there are better times ahead for all of us.”
Ali Gropper
Global Communication & VIP Relations Coordinator
(She/Her)
“Growing up gay in a conservative Midwestern town I always felt like I had to hide a part of who I was. Today I try to show up as my authentic whole self in everything I do — at work, at home, and with family, and as a legally married gay man Pride means more to me now than ever before. Happy Pride!”
Peter Nichols
Global Senior Vice President, Merchandising
(He/Him)
“To me Pride means self-affirmation, dignityand equal rights for everyone. We should always be proud and celebrate who we are. We all have a responsibility to work toward a better future.”
Christine Lin
Senior Financial Analyst
(She/Her)
The Limited-Edition Sneakers
— and Where to Shop Them
We released two styles as part of our limited-edition Pride sneaker drop:
The OLLIE HEART SNEAKER and a high-top version, the OLLIE HEART BOOTIE SNEAKER.
Designed by Stuart Weitzman Global Head of Design Edmundo Castillo, these silhouettes feature bright and joyful design elements, including multicolor heart motifs, a rainbow-hued "Stuart Weitzman" written in Edmundo's own handwriting, a metallic stripe on the back counter and SW Star logo hardware on the tongue. Each pair is available in 17 sizes, from 4 through 12, and come with two pairs of laces: in red and white.
100% of net profits will be donated to the It Gets Better Project in support of their mission to uplift and empower LGBTQ+ youth around the globe.
"I'm happy to support the It Gets Better Project," says Edmundo. "Its dedication to helping kids overcome challenges and teaching our future generations to feel proud of who they are is key to creating a better world."
The looks are Stuart Weitzman exclusives and are only available on ca.stuartweitzman.com and in select SW boutiques while supplies last.
CELEBRATE ON SOCIAL
WITH OUR STICKERS
AND FILTERS
Inspired by our partnership with the It Gets Better Project, as well as our limited-edition sneakers, we created two AR filters and a range of GIPHY stickers to celebrate this initiative.
Try them out for yourself on Instagram!
CLICK HERE TO TRY OUR SWXIGBP PRIDE GLAM AR FILTER CLICK HERE TO TRY OUR SWXIGBP PRIDE HEART AR FILTERPlus, visit the GIPHY library on Instagram and search "Stuart Weitzman" to check out our GIPHY stickers.