Billionaire Boy Club and Black Ambition, both founded by Pharrell Williams, have dropped a collection of limited edition merch hoodies to celebrate Black History Month. The musician/mogul/fashion icon has partnered with Brooklyn-based visual artist Taylor Simmons, another example of young, Black, and gifted individuals who are driving culture forward. The hoodies are the personification of the 20 years of Black Ambition, a nonprofit initiative that works towards accessibility for young Black folks to reach their highest creative ambition. Black Ambition is here to close the gap between opportunity, wealth, and Black people.
Simmons’ hoodie design is an iteration of the BBC Astronaut through his perspective, and often in Simmons’ figurative oil paintings, he does this in order to spark conversation about how the Black community is seen through his artwork sans the weight and burden of Blackness being politicized. The hoodie is an original painting by Simmons, translated onto a black 4000GSM hoodie to ensure that Simmon’s astronaut can be a true piece of wearable art with the highest quality fleece.
As part of the partnership with the visual artist, BBC, and Black Ambition also created a video with Simmons discussing his creative process and where he pulls his inspiration from.
Proceeds from the hoodie sales will be donated to Black ambition to continue its efforts to support Black innovators. On February 13th, the BBC hoodies with be available exclusively on bbcicecream.com and at BBC ICECREAM’s US Flagships in NYC and Miami.
