We admit to a certain degree of disappointment in ultimately realizing that we’re never going to see Idris Elba as James Bond. But the beloved actor / IRL superhero seems far too busy in his all around awesomeness to likely even think of adding a years-long stint as 007 to his resume.
To wit, he currently has a summer DJ residency every Friday night at Hï Ibiza’s Club Room (through September 30); and he’ll also be playing Tilda Swinton’s hunky genie in the upcoming film Three Thousand Years of Longing (in theaters August 31). But let’s face it, he’s always been a man of impeccable, effortless style. And in 2021, he and Sabrina Elba, his equally awesome model / activist / UN Ambassador life-and-business partner launched a collab with Christian Louboutin, fittingly titled Walk a Mile in My Shoes, with proceeds going to a number of very worthy charities.
This month, the Walk a Mile in My Shoes II collection arrives, having taken inspiration from the Elbas’ African roots, with motifs including the desert rose, the protea and the cotton tree, the national flowers of Ghana, Somalia, and Sierra Leone, respectively. There’s also a strong family element, with the Maryam sandal being named in tribute to Sabrina’s Somalian mother, and the 2002SL sneaker paying homage to Idris’ actress daughter Isan Elba, by way of taking its name from her birth year.
In a short video created for the collab featuring the Elbas and Monsieur Louboutin himself, Sabrina enthuses, “Seeing the impact we had with the first collection, it just feels an honor to be able to carry it on.”
The “impact” she is referring to is the inaugural collection having raised a whopping $2 million – and one would readily expect as much from Part II. The six grassroots organizations chosen to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds this year all have urgent missions, and include Somalia’s Elman Peace Center; the Raining Season, supporting vulnerable children in Sierra Leone; Afrikids, which does much the same in Northern Ghana; and creative/education programs CASA 93 (Brazil), Immediate Theatre (London) and New York’s Art Start, which offers opportunities in the arts to marginalized youth.
The Walk a Mile in My Shoes II collection is available now at ChristianLouboutin.com.
