This year’s ugly sweater party is about to be on a whole other level. Nas recently unveiled his new collection of “Kneeling Santa” sweaters, a collaboration he’s been working on with HSTRY apparel brand, on Nov. 22. The sweaters definitely nailed the “ugly” component, but the collection also manages to incorporate a stance on social issues into the fashion statement.
Nas debuted the line on Instagram, showing three colorways of the sweaters. On the front of the knitwear is a illustration of a black Santa kneeling, surrounded by traditional holiday patterns and raised fists. The complete garment is a blatant reference to San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick’s controversial national anthem protest, in which he took a knee against injustices faced by the black community.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNGCsdQjOIa/?taken-by=nas
The Queens rapper didn’t comment on the symbolism of the shirt, but did acknowledge that the collection would be sold at HSTRY’s online store, and that all proceeds would go to the Center for Court Innovation, a New York City initiative program that advocates for criminal justice reform.
Each sweater is reportedly selling for $45 each. Although that may seem like a lot, the Illmatic rapper probably won’t have any trouble distributing them. Just last year, 2 Chainz made an impressive profit of $2 million for his “Dabbing Santa” sweaters, which he raised for his TRU Foundation. In addition to launching season 2 of the successful sweater collection, the ColleGrove rapper also announced that his CEO Millionaires brand was launching a clothing line in order to help support the nation’s homeless veterans.
As for where you can cop Nas’ “Kneeling Santa” sweater, head to HSTRY’s website here.