Tyga wants to keep his sneaker game old school, with a new spin.
The “Make It Work” rapper debuted his brand new Liquid Gold L.A. Gear Lights at Shiekh Shoes in Hollywood, Calif. this past Tuesday (March 31), where he greeted fans, and signed autographs. Christina Milian and Karrueche Tran stopped by to show support, as did his mom, Pasionaye Nguyen.
Before (allegedly) getting served with legal papers, King Gold Chains spoke with VIBE about what partnering with the L.A.-based brand means to a West Coaster like himself. “It’s just dope because it’s something that I actually wanted to do,” noted the 25-year-old Compton native. “I approached [L.A. Gear] and I was like, ‘I got a vision for this brand and I want to bring it back, just trust my judgement.’”
Not only do they “trust” said judgement, a strong faith in Tyga’s star power is likely at play.
Founded in 1979, L.A. Gear shot to popularity in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but filed for bankruptcy in 1998. While it remains to be seen if he can help put them back on top, the collaboration already looks promising from a marketing standpoint. His social media stats alone (13.3 million Facebook likes, 5 million Instagram followers, and almost 6 million on Twitter) opens L.A. Gear up to millions of his fans who are either unfamiliar, or looking to get reacquainted, with the brand.
Tyga’s metallic kicks — the first of several designs to be released — are a throwback to the classic line, complete with red LED lights on the heels. The shoes also boast black highlights and outsoles, breaking up the “all good everything” aesthetic.
Only 500 pairs of the limited edition Liquid Golds will be released, and Tyga’s excited to put out more shoes this June. “Just to see it happening now, like the first step of the process is good,” he explained. “We got so many other designs, different shoes… I got my own running shoe, we’re about to do a lot of things. This is just an introduction.”