Swarovski collaborates with Ales Grey to launch in UK

US lifestyle brand Ales Grey has made it debut in the UK with a collaboration with crystals company Swarovski on a “vibrant installation” as part of its pop-up at Selfridges.

The joint custom installation centres around a crystallised basketball theme and features around 1 million crystals from Swarovski, on display is a sparkling basketball back wall, basketball net, and a basketball covered with crystals bearing the Ales Grey logo.

The pop-up will be open for a month at Selfridges, Oxford Street store in London, and will include limited-edition, crystal-encrusted trainers, the ‘Battalion Hi’ and ‘Battalion Low’ styles, which have special leathers and outsoles that feature a new exclusive colour created by Ales Grey for Margom soles in Italy.

Alongside the trainer launch is the Ales Grey ready-to-wear clothing line, presenting upcycled, hand-picked vintage T-shirts (circa 1995), which have been glittered with Swarovski ‘Crystal Electric Lacquer’ crystals, which are also making their debut in the UK for the first time. Ales Grey is one of the first companies in the world to showcase Swarovski’s new state-of-the-art UV crystals.

In addition, a portion of every pair of trainers’ retail price will go towards supporting the Los Angeles-based creative campus known as the Inner-City Art organisation, which provides well-equipped studios and professional teaching staff to give school-going youngsters the opportunity to work in the visual, performing and media arts.

Based in Los Angeles, Ales Grey is the newest luxury brand launched by industry veteran “Sneaker Steve” Patiño. The name is derived from his son’s name and is a tribute to how Patiño envisions the future of footwear and fashion with seasonal offerings for men and women. All items are handmade in the finest artisan factories in Europe, using only the best resources from Portugal and Italy to produce some of the highest quality products in the world.

Images: courtesy of Ales Grey and Swarovski