Babbu the Painter's "Kesar"

We teamed up for something special with the super talented Babbuthepainter and created a collection that turns up the volume for our brown sisters and brothers. Now more than ever, we must have our voices heard!

From the artist's brush:

Babbuthepainter is a Toronto based creative entrepreneur and the founder of her globally recognized style of modern desi diaspora pop-art. Babbu has manifested the unheard voice of South Asian millennials in her artwork worldwide. And has made a name for herself and for her artwork across North America being featured in shows such as The Mindy Project.

Babbu’s Inspiration: 
When I was approached to do a collaboration with the sneaker bag brand Solepack I instantly had a vision of the illustration I wanted to create. Perception, prejudice, identities, womanhood, and their interpretation are themes that have been incorporated into my art since the beginning. I wanted to translate some of those themes into this collaboration. So, we created “Kesar” a first-generation Punjabi-Canadian teenager from Toronto, that wears both her identities proudly. She loves to play basketball and has a freakishly large sneaker collection for a teenager. Kesar has an intensive hair care routine that was passed down from her grandmother, and to keep her luscious locks back while playing sports she often wears bucket hats. Off the court she loves to adorn herself with Indian gold jewelry and enjoys binge watching Bollywood movies with her friends. Kesar felt right for this collaboration as there is such a lack of brown female diaspora representation within the mainstream sports, sneaker world. We hope you love our collaboration as much as we loved making it.