Forever 21 Designs to Dig Wells in Kenya
The colorful, intricate designs of Kenya’s Samburu people were celebrated April 18, when retailer Forever 21 debuted a 19-piece capsule collection inspired by the Samburu style. The Los Angeles–based retailer produced a pop-up shop at the L.A. Mart showroom building. All of the sales from the pop-up will be given to The Samburu Project. It’s a Santa Monica, Calif.–based nonprofit that digs wells to provide clean water to that parched part of the world. Ten percent of sales from future sales of the capsule collection will go to the nonprofit, too.
Forever 21’s Samburu collection started in late 2011 when samples of the tribe’s scarves, wraps, beadwork and sarongs were bought to the retailer’s designers. Betsy Zanjani, Forever 21 senior vice president of design, said it was the retailer’s job to take the Samburu clothes and turn them into fashions that would be worn in California and other places where Forever 21 runs stores.
The capsule collection features bandeau tops, wraps, bikinis, jewelry and bags that range from $1.50 for a tote to $22.80. Much of the Samburu inspiration ended up in the capsule’s graphics, such as a drawing of an elephant on one of the collection’s T-shirts.
The Samburu collection is charitable effort by Forever 21. The company has raised funds for American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, American Forests and the American Red Cross. Charitable work is something of a second career for Forever 21 founders Don Chang and his wife, Jin Sook Chang. “Their entire off time is spent with charity or working for others all around the world,” Zanjani said. —Andrew Asch
