Wear your heart on your sleeve. Wear your humanity on your chest.
In 2020 Toronto Raptors President and Giants of Africa co-founder Masai Ujiri and menswear brand Harry Rosen collaborated on a project focused on raising funds for charity, bringing new Black designers into the famed retailer, and ultimately reminding the world that there’s more that unites us than divides us. At the center of the collaboration was the idea of humanity, expressed through fashion — one of the many ways people choose to show who they are. A seven-piece athleisure capsule designed by Ujiri and Canadian designer Patrick Assaraf features the word ‘HUMANITY’ in Ujiri’s handwriting.
“This year we have been consumed by the twin pandemics of COVID and racism. We need to find a cure for both, urgently,” Ujiri said at the time. “No one expects a t-shirt to change the world, but each of us committing to look at one other as human beings and really see the humanity in everyone is a good start. See the word. Have the conversation. Really talk to each other. Remember that our humanity is the first thing we all have in common. Once we recognize that we share that connection, we can find others.”
Net proceeds from the sale of the collection went to Black Youth Helpline, an organization which provides young people with access to culturally relevant, hiqh quality services and resources in their local community. Helpline’s diverse programming includes crisis counselling, strategies for staying in school and support for families, schools and communities.
“We are incredibly grateful to Masai Ujiri and Harry Rosen for their steadfast commitment to youth from Canada’s underrepresented backgrounds and under-resourced communities.” said Barbara Thompson, Founder & Executive Director of Black Youth Helpline. “Now more than ever, there is a need to support and empower Canada’s disadvantaged youth. This transformative partnership will propel us as we develop and execute new strategies for education, and community well-being in support of keeping Canada’s vulnerable youth on track to successful futures.”
Sparked by the collaboration and inspired by Harry Rosen’s commitment to diversifying its shelves, the brand has signed George Sully, the creator of Sully and Son, and the founder of Black Designers of Canada. Beginning in the spring, Sully will be among a growing roster of BIPOC designers offered by the fashion retailer.
“Events of the last year have impressed upon us that the status quo is not good enough and that we all need to do better” said Larry Rosen, CEO of Harry Rosen, “From working with inspiring role models to opening more doors of opportunity, we are committed to making the Canadian fashion industry more equitable.”
The HUMANITY capsule collection was exclusively available on HarryRosen.com
Masai Ujiri is the first and only African-born President and General Manager of a professional sports franchise in North America — the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors. In 2019, Masai led the Raptors to their first-ever NBA Championship and the first NBA Championship won by a team outside the United States in NBA history. Born and raised in Nigeria, with a deep passion for basketball, Masai began to pursue a career as an executive when his professional basketball career came to an early end. In 2003, Masai co-founded the Giants of Africa (GOA) organization, based on the idea of using basketball as a means of educating and enriching the lives of African youth — both boys and girls.
Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest, or as Mies van der Rohe so eloquently put it, “less is more.” The line of luxury basics designed by Patrick Assaraf embodies his many schools of thought from over three decades of a rich career in menswear fashion. Inspired by the European elegance and tailoring of Italian menswear, the Patrick Assaraf line is a contemporary take on luxury, comfort, and the ease that is the central principle of what he believes the ethos of luxury to be. The simplicity in his silhouettes allows for the elevation of what he calls “extravagance.” This extravagance exists in the progressive, high end fabrication of Peruvian cotton, choice fabrics, and in the novelty of a vibrant color palette. At the heart of this brand is integrity, one that Patrick Assaraf gives back to his customers, while presenting them with effortless basics, with elegance and simplicity.
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