That successful collaboration with Nike was just the beginning, as Pigalle is about to take its love for basketball and fashion to new heights. Along with a new collection and dedicated brick-and-mortar retail store, the brand has also unveiled a new basketball court, located in the middle of the Paris district which it is named for.
Founder Stephane Ashpool sat down with Dazed & Confused to talk about how the store, the collection, and the court came about. While he’s spoken at length about his love for the game before, Ashpool revealed that the new court is really an effort to give back to the city’s youth: “Seven years ago, we fought with the government to build a basketball court in the Pigalle area instead of a car park. It’s in the middle of Pigalle area between two buildings – two years after, Nike helped us to refit the court together with LeBron James.”
Following the theme of community building, the court was painted by friends, members of the neighborhood, and a team of local kids that Ashpool coaches every week. Ashpool also mentioned that “this time,” the court design evokes that of an Ndebele house painting, hinting at future designs in the future.
Dazed & Confused is also featuring three short films about the building of the court. Head over to their site to see them and to read the full interview.
[via Dazed & Confused]
