Mary. J. Blige is not only the Queen of hip-hop soul she is also a style icon, and now the nine-time Grammy Award-winner is making her fashionable footwear available to the public.
During her concert on May 11 at the Barclays Center, Blige announced a special collaboration by posing a question to those in attendance. “Do you like these boots?” she queried. The crowd responded with a thunderous applause.
“Well Mary J. Blige and Giuseppe (Zanotti) just created the Mary J. Blige boot, and you can get these boots online Monday. They are for sale. The Mary Boot is here. Everybody that’s been asking; there you go. Happy Mother’s Day ladies.”
The pair released a joint Instagram post with the following caption:
“Giuseppe Zanotti and Mary J. Blige have transformed their longtime friendship into an exclusive, limited-edition collaboration. Introducing The Mary Boot, a stunning over-the-knee boot co-designed by the two talents.”
The singer, actress, and entrepreneur now will add boots to her growing business empire, which includes Sun Goddess Wine and her jewelry collaboration with the wife of hip-hop legend and actor LL Cool J, Simone I. Smith.
Elena Romero, assistant chairperson of Marketing Communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology and co-author of Fresh, Fly, Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style reacted to the new collaboration.
“Mary’s custom boot collection is comparable to none,” she said. “She’s had the Who’s Who of custom boots made by luxury’s elite – from Versace, Burberry, Louis Vuitton to MCM. Whether she’s rocking boots for her Superbowl performance (in which she wore chrome boots) or the red carpet of The Met Gala (in which she wore custom Versace and blue rose Burberry boots), Mary has used heeled thigh-high boots to make her fashion statements most memorable. Blige isn’t new to collaborations. Last year, Blige released a limited-edition Jimmy Choo x Timberland six-inch crystal boot that dropped for Easter. The Italian-made suede boot featured Swarovski crystals. This latest collaboration, however, has her name attached to the name of the boot.”
The Mary Boot retails for $1,295.00 and is available in sizes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 on giuseppezanotti.com.
