Andre 3000 recently entered into an elusive, multi-faceted partnership with Swedish footwear and outerwear brand Tretorn, reports WWD.
As part of the partnership, Andre Benjamin will appear in an upcoming campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tretorn’s Nylite sneaker. The 126-year-old company was recently sold by PUMA to Authentic Brands Group, which is looking to make the brand relevant again.
“It was very serendipitous,” said Nick Woodhouse, ABG’s president and chief marketing officer. “We wanted to work with Andre because he resonates with all ages and he’s an OG. He’s not a flavor of the month. There are a lot of terrific, young influencers out there, but Andre is established. These young kids are reaching out to him to collaborate. That’s why we did this.”
The Outkast member will also design a special shoe collection scheduled to come out in 2018.
“He came to the meeting with sketches of shoes,” Woodhouse said. “He has a very clear point of view on style, the way he dresses and the way he carries himself.”
In unrelated news, students in one of Dr. Regina Bradley’s upper level English courses at Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia were offered the opportunity to take a course on hip hop titled “OutKast and the Rise of the Hip-Hop South” beginning this semester.
In the course, students will listen to and analyze Outkast’s albums as well as other Southern-based rap music and will also examine the role hip hop plays in forming contemporary political movements like Black Lives Matter.