Vanessa Bryant Launches Gigi-Inspired Brand

Vanessa Bryant announced the launch of Mambacita, a clothing line with a release date dear to her heart. 

The collection honors the memory of her late daughter Gianna and goes live on May 1 — what would’ve been Gigi’s 15th birthday. Bryant posted a preview of the new line modeled by her and her daughters Natalia and Capri on Instagram.

All of the proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.  

The Mambacita apparel launch comes after Vanessa Bryant and Kobe’s estate failed to reach an agreement on a new contract with Nike, ending an 18-year relationship with the company. 

The split with Nike was no surprise:

• Bryant’s estate filed 13 trademarks since May 2020 for shoe and clothing brands.
• Kobe and his estate were unhappy with the limited availability of his Nike products.
• Venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar said that he met with Kobe in 2019 to discuss starting his own shoe company called “‘Mamba.”

However, Vanessa has confirmed there are still two final Nike releases on the way.