So many details in one small but meaningful drop. Discover the story behind Reebok’s 2024 Pride Collection from the designer behind the shoes, Haleigh Roy.

Q: Hey Haleigh, thanks for chatting. Before we jump in, what’s your title and how long have you been at Reebok?

A: So, I’ve been at Reebok for two years and have worked in footwear design for four years. Technically my title at Reebok is “Surface Designer,” but most people would know it as “Color and Materials” because, well, I work on the colors and materials you see on the shoe.

Q: How did you get involved with or assigned to the 2024 Pride Collection?

A: I wanted to work on it, so I just asked my manager. I actually didn’t think they’d let me work on the collection because I hadn’t even worked at Reebok for a year when the project started. But my manager was really trusting and told me yes. I was (and still am) super grateful. Once I realized what I had actually signed up for, I was like, “Oh sh*t… what did I just do? That’s a lot of work,” but it was a labor of love amongst me and my teammates.

Q: Tell us more about the collection. What was your inspiration?

A: My inspiration for the 2024 Pride collection was inclusivity and celebration, and I looked to find new ways to incorporate those themes. We have a colorful swirling graphic that was our unique take on tie-dyed garments often seen at Pride parades featured on all the shoes. We also took the idea of colorful confetti popped off in celebration as inspiration for the marbled ice outsoles and specks in the logo labels. I believe if we can bring joy and celebration to the community through the footwear and apparel we’ve created, we’ll have achieved the goal of this collection.
 

Q: Can you speak to more of the details in the shoes? Did you use specific Pride colors or symbols?

A: Sure! Classic Leather (my favorite style in the collection) is our most versatile in the range. It features a traditional white leather upper with rainbow stitching, colored leather backers (you’ll see this as a pop of color at the edges of the pieces of leather), a heart rivet on the tongue label, and the best part, seven rainbow colors on a marbled ice outsole to mimic confetti. The marbled ice outsole was actually really challenging to make because it’s a difficult and costly chemical process to marble that many colors together on an ice-style (semitransparent) outsole, but I’m proud we were able to pull it off. There's also a semitransparent tongue label and logo window with colorful specs emulating confetti, and the tongue label also features the Reebok Starcrest logo with the colors of the Pride flag that includes trans, black and brown colors.

DMX Comfort+ is also a very wearable shoe with more pops of color. You get the tie-dye graphic on the tongue, collar lining and sockliner, and a woven tongue label with the colors of the Pride flag. These shoes also have rainbow stitching and marbled ice outsoles. Finally, the boldest and most colorful of the bunch, Nano X4, gets the full rainbow tie-dye graphic on the upper with rainbow branding on the tongue.

Q: What about the motto FOR ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY on the apparel styles?

A: The mantra FOR ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY is more than just the slogan on the apparel, it’s a concept woven through the collection. FOR ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY is a callout to inclusion, both inside and outside of the LGBTQIA+ community. We focused on creating a range of clothing and sneakers with a wide appeal to ensure anyone can represent the community in a way that feels comfortable to them. Because Pride is a personal feeling, we made designs that can be more overt in a colorful way or have more of a subtle expression. There’s not just one look or true form of Pride, which is why it was important for us to design a variety of styles anyone can feel proud to wear. We had a lot of fun designing this collection and we hope that everyone who shops it will feel that energy too.
 

Q: How do you connect to this collection and to Pride?

A: Well, as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I really wanted to design products I wanted to wear. I looked at what we had done in the past and didn’t want to replicate what Reebok had made before or what other brands have released. I’ve seen a lot of Pride collections, but never found styles that resonated with me. That’s why I wanted to have a breadth of designs so anyone could find something that makes them feel comfortable expressing themselves. I’m also bringing my unique lived experience to the product, which unfortunately isn’t always the case when it comes to Pride collections. This drop is extra special because it’s personal.

Pride is important to me, but I’m gay every month—not just June. It’s an aspect of my identity, not my whole identity—I'm also a sister and a designer. For me, it’s not always a loud thing, and how I express it varies daily. This is why I wanted to create styles I could see myself (and others) wearing not just during Pride month, but all year around to work or school and on the street. In general, Pride is being proud of who I am and being able to represent a community in a way like this.

Q: How did you ensure the products you designed were inclusive and authentic?

A: When designing, it was important for me as a queer person to represent every color on the Pride flag across the shoe, using specific Pantones. I intentionally included all colors of the Pride flag featuring black, brown and trans identities because the original flag does not include many marginalized sectors of the community. We also collaborated with Reebok’s LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, Colorful Soles, to give other community voices the chance to weigh in on product design. Think of this whole collection as by the community, for the community. And when it came to the marketing photoshoot, all the models featured (and me!) identified as queer. It was very important to my team that we worked with LGBTQIA+ individuals to ensure that the products are authentic.
 

Q: To sum it all up, what does designing this collection mean to you?

A: Wow, designing this collection was a big milestone for me and a major privilege to represent my community. The opportunity to create this year's Pride collection and contribute to Reebok's history supporting the queer community is something that my collaborators and I are very grateful for.

I’m honored to be trusted with part of this story, because at Reebok, we build on each season. Each time we launch our Pride collection, we learn something new. Whether that’s from community feedback or discoveries on the technical side, we’re able to make a better collection each year. For us, this isn’t a one-time collection, it’s part of a larger story we care deeply about.

As someone who admired these collections when striving to join the industry, I never thought I would have the chance to work on a project that was so significant to me. The process of working on this collection was eye-opening, both from product creation perspective, and the collaboration and community needed to bring this story to life. The teams who worked on this, from marketing to creative, empowered us to fully bring our dream for this collection to reality. We see this collection as a proud and authentic representation of Reebok’s and Reebok’s employees' commitment to spreading inclusivity and unity. I hope this collection makes the community feel seen and acknowledged for who they truly are.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BAGLY

In conjunction with the 2024 Pride Collection launch, Reebok is donating $10,000 to The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY). Formed in 1980, BAGLY is a youth-led, adult-supported organization committed to social justice, and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community of Massachusetts.

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