In a campaign pairing we would have never guessed, Vic Mensa has been chosen as the face of this fall’s Ugg for Men campaign, it was announced today. As a product of the comfy footwear brand’s recent partnership with retailer Footaction, Mensa’s campaign is designed to give Ugg an “edgy and urban” appeal, according to a release that accompanied the news.
“I like where the Ugg brand is going,” the Grammy nominated artist said via statement. “They’re open to trying new things and really pushing forward. When someone like me wears Ugg, it’s kind of like repurposing the brand from its original concept, which was made for surfers. I think it’s dope that they’re taking new perspectives.”
For the campaign, that meant letting Mensa take the reigns on planning and curation. The resulting images were shot in Mensa’s hometown of Chicago, including one set of photos taken inside the city's famed CRC Studios, where artists as diverse as Chance the Rapper, Lady Gaga, and Aaliyah have all recorded. Mensa also brought his tour photographer Jake Osmun and his personal stylist Zoe Costello on board.
In a video interview with XXL, Mensa said he had been wearing Ugg before the partnership because he found them comfortable. While the company says the partnership is a one-off deal for now with the possibility to extend, Mensa already has design ideas. “It’d be hard if we did it like the Wallabees and dyed them up like Wu Tang,” he told XXL. “That’s I want to do; dye the classics like an old school Ghostface Killah vibe.”
As a part of Ugg’s team up with Footaction, select styles from the brand are now available in the retailer’s stores, as well as on its website.
