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Boss Lady is a title that fits Simone Amelia well. After starting the biggest hip-hop and R&B magazine in Australia, the Down Under import made the move from customer to coordinator by becoming the Lifestyle Manager for the urban empire that is DrJays. When she?s not overseeing content for DJ Networks or interviewing the industry?s biggest acts on Invasion Radio, she?s creating her own classics with Reebok. We caught up with the Princess Jasmine of hip-hop to discuss her new kicks, her favorite style icons, and her advice to future boss ladies.
Nice Kicks: How did the project come about?
Boss Lady: I was blessed to be able to go to Reebok and work with their design team on the creation of the shoe. I?m not a designer by any means, so it was really my first experience at designing something on that level.
Nice Kicks: Did you have any inspiration in mind?
Boss Lady: Really the inspiration was Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. There aren?t enough positive images of Middle Eastern women and men in the Western world. Princess Jasmine, to me, was a balance of a woman holding on to her tradition and her morals, but at the same time she had this fiery, independent side that just wanted to explore and live her life. I identify with that 100%. I would always incorporate elements of her traditional style into my own street style, so when I had the opportunity to do this sneaker I really incorporated every element of her most iconic outfit. I had to have tiger print because she had a pet tiger and I had to have blue jewelry for her crown. Us Middle Eastern women are known for our love of animal print, gold jewelry, and a lot of black eyeliner [laughs]! I really wanted it to be an identifier of my culture more than anything else. Princess Jasmine to me was a boss lady.
Nice Kicks: Gold jewelry and animal print couldn?t be timelier with the state of hip-hop fashion. With so much buzz built around the Kamikaze, the Workout, and the Ex-O-Fit, what went into choosing the Betwixt?
Boss Lady: I wasn?t sure about the model at the beginning, but when I wore it for the first time they came to life. You can make them look as girly as you want or as edgy as you want depending on your own personal style.
Boss Lady in the Boss Lady x Reebok Classics Betwixt
