Vanessa Bryant is honoring her late daughter, Gianna Bryant, with a new clothing line. On Friday (April 30), she took to Instagram to announce the Mambacita collection, which will be launched tomorrow (May 1) on Gigi’s 15th birthday.
Per her posts, the line features sweatpants and matching hoodies with the name “Mambacita” written on them and are designed for men, women and children. Proceeds from the sales will go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
On Dec. 30, 2019, less than a month before his untimely death, Bryant’s husband, Kobe Bryant, reportedly filed for the Mambacita trademark with hopes to launch a sportswear brand with shirts, shorts, hats, jerseys, sweatpants, sweatshirts and hoodies.
His plans were cut short when he, Gianna and seven others passed away in a helicopter crash while on their way to Orange County, California for a basketball game.
In the wake of the tragic occurrence, Bryant picked up where Kobe left off and filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to secure the rights to not only “Mambacita” but “Mamba” as well. Similarly, she detailed her intentions to use the nicknames for a line that would include hoodies, shirts and shorts. Sweatbands, skirts, pants, bottoms, socks, dresses, jackets and footwear were also listed in her application.
Bryant has been working hard to ensure she honors Kobe in the right way. She recently ended the former baller’s partnership with Nike after she reportedly became “frustrated” with the limitation of Kobe’s merchandise during his retirement and after his death — a restraint that made it difficult for fans to buy his products. She’s also taken over all of his unfinished projects at the Granity Studios.
Though Bryant’s managed to keep it pushing, the grieving process hasn’t been easy for her. Back in March, while discussing life after Kobe and Gianna, she wrote, “I can’t say that I’m strong every day. I can’t say that there aren’t days when I feel like I can’t survive to the next.”
“This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward,” Bryant continued. “Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So, that’s what I do.”
She credited Gianna and Kobe as her sources of motivation and said that her daughters, Natalia and Bianka Bryant, help her “smile through the pain.”
Look below to see Bryant and her daughters in pieces from the Mambacita collection.