Written by Cassell Ferere

Vegan leather sneakers are taking over. Jaden Smith is here to solidify the trend. How? With his New Balance collaboration called the “Vision Racer.” It may be a jump for most sneakerheads to understand but the “icon living” is putting his mark on the sneaker game and putting his foot down when it comes to sustainability.

Smith’s involvement in the production of his “Wavy Baby Blue” sneaker was noted by the Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Davis of New Balance as an influence to get NB on the more sustainable path to production. This dad shoe, with its chunky aesthetic widely seen in recent years as the go-to shoe, was a product of

“respecting heritage and co-authoring a distinct future,”

as reported by Footwear News, mentioned by Davis who is also the Senior Vice President of merchandising.

The purple-ish hue of the shoe is distinct, like most things Jaden Smith has done. Prose like the naming of his associated water brand “Just Water” have been starters for Smith in his health campaign. He has handed out thousands of vegan meals to those in need with Cafe Gratitude based in Los Angeles. Further that by telling his social media followers, which is in the millions, to ditch meat on Fridays.

With this drop happening on July 24th, Jaden Smith is making the vegan leather sneaker a trending force among those with disposable income around this time. His philanthropic efforts have gone beyond charity and are embedded in his DNA, likely handed down by his very much motivating father, the great entertainer Will Smith. 

Jaden Smith has been down with New Balance since June 2019. He has honed his fashion sense over the years working with brands like Louis Vuitton, which he debuted their similar chunky style LV sneaker, to Levis and launched a G-Star sustainable denim collection, a brand that Pharrell Williams, an avid conscious living being himself, has partnered with to because of their ethical endeavors for fashion.

This Vision Racer will retail for $150 and be available on www.newbalance.com and selected retailers. 

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