UGG Supports the Trevor Project to Honor Pride 2022

UGG® is proud to collaborate with The Trevor Project to bring their life-affirming services to the UGG® community of customers, fans, and followers. Now more than ever, it is vital to inspire resilience and dismantle the stigma some face when seeking mental health services. The brand’s donation will support The Trevor Project in reaching more youth and further advancing their mission to end suicide among LGBTQIA+ young people.

“The UGG brand’s generous support will help us continue scaling our 24/7 crisis services, in addition to expanding our suicide prevention programs across advocacy, research, education and more,” said Shira Kogan, Director of Corporate Partnerships at The Trevor Project. “Our research shows that LGBTQ youth feel empowered by brands that are visible in their support of LGBTQ identities, and UGG’s new Pride-inspired styles offer a great way to show support and celebration year-round.”

Extending the tactile and comforting feeling of UGG® to spring-ready sandals with lightweight puff and fluff uppers, the updated all-gender Pride Collection by UGG® consists of statement silhouettes featuring the brand’s signature sheepskin insole and Pride-inspired detailing. With complementing apparel pieces, the collection offers a full Pride look from head-to-toe.

As a continuation of the ‘FEEL HEARD’ campaign and celebration of Pride Month in June, UGG® will be hosting a panel Q&A event with ALOK and friends moderated by The Trevor Project at the UGG® Fifth Avenue flagship store on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Open to the public, the conversation will consist of the panelists’ advocacy work for the LGBTQIA+ community. What’s more, the pride collection is available now for purchase at UGG.com, UGG® stores and select wholesale retailers nationwide.

office, sat down with campaign star, ALOK, to discuss the collection, pride, mental health, and more. Check out the interview below. 

You’ve recently partnered with UGG to honor pride 2022, how does this partnership further amplify your mission?

My work is rooted in healing. Part of what makes us feel so lonely in this world is we are taught that love is contingent on our seeming triumphant and jovial. We are encouraged to privatize our pain, suppress what we’re going through, out of fear of being shunned. With my story in this campaign, I wanted to highlight a different kind of love: one that foregrounds people’s complexity and appreciates one another for who we are, not who we should be. I hope this affirmation makes people feel less isolated.

What does the phrase “feel heard’ mean to you?

As a gender non-conforming person, I often feel reduced to my appearance. People rarely take the time to regard my humanity. So often people feel like they know who I am better than I do and prioritize their projection over my reality. Or rather, I’m not allowed to have my reality. Because I’m not even considered real. Feeling heard is about being granted permission to tell my story on my terms. It’s about refusing reductive categories and bearing witness to my fullness. In this collection, UGG aims to highlight the importance of mental health & wellness through the promotion of the foundation's counseling services for the LGBTQIA+ youth.

What kinds of dialogue do you hope is sparked around this campaign?

2022 has some of the worst legislative attacks on LGBTQ communities in the US. This constant and thorough dehumanization takes a devastating toll on our mental health, especially for LGBTQIA+ youth. So many LGBTQIA+ youths I connect with tell me that they’re feeling impossible – they don’t think it will be possible to grow up (especially as a trans and gender non-conforming person). What I hope people can sit with is how at a fundamental level so many trans and gender non-conforming people are still fighting to exist. And for us, representation is about showing that our lives are possible and meaningful. It’s about showing that even though there is so much struggle, alongside it, so much beauty.

It’s always so wonderful to see brands who support the demonstration of pride during pride month. What about UGG screams pride to you?

Pride should be about amplifying LGBTQIA talent, leadership, and creative innovation. And that’s what we did together. My style is so important to how I show up in this world and I was thrilled with how I could express it with this campaign. This is who I am – on my terms. We were able to send out copies of my new poetry book Your Wound / My Garden to more folks. We were able to support an organization near and dear to my heart: The Trevor Project. And so much more.

UGG kicked off the campaign with a generous donation to the Trevor Project, which is an incredible resource, though I just want to ask what other resources you think should be highlighted.

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. It’s really important that we have organizations that are trained to address the specific mental health concerns of our community. In fact – 7/10 of LGBTQ youth specifically reach out to the Trevor Project because they are an expert on LGBTQ youth's mental health. If you are an LGBTQ young person struggling right now know that Trevor offers 24/7 phone, text, and chat crisis services.

Give the readers of office magazine three phrases that you swear by.

“I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive” – James Baldwin

“The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty” – Anne Lamott

“Violence is an attempt to replace shame with self-esteem” – James Gilligan

On a personal level, how do you hope to dismantle and destigmatize the conversation around mental health? What can the average person do to educate themselves?

We must each prioritize our healing journeys. This work becomes at home. How we treat other people is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. Change begins with how we choose to show up in the world. I try my best to live outside of shame and continually choose compassion, even when it’s difficult. I hope that by showing up with vulnerability and love, I can change the people around me. And then that’s how we make large-scale change. The reverberations. How can we as a collective society tread towards a world where the dialogue around mental health is normalized? Look – this work is difficult. There’s pushback and perpetual doubt. There’s denial and outright demonization. People will go through great lengths to not have to encounter their repressed pain. But the only way that we can make change is by pushing through discomfort. And that requires courage. So be courageous: when you see people weaponizing shame, intervene. When you see people making assumptions about people’s mental health based on their appearance, say something. It’s in those moments of interruption, in those breaks, that possibility blooms.

UGG has replicated that comforting feeling that the Trevor Project offers to those around the world. What are some of your favorite pieces from the collection?

I love my Fluffy Pride slippers. They’re so chic and they bring smiles to me and the people around me – that fills me with so much joy!

Lastly, what can we expect to see from you as the year goes on?

I’m doing an event with some friends and the Trevor Project in June that I’m excited about! And then I’m going to be touring all across the US and Europe with my new comedy-poetry show. I haven’t been able to tour in so long, so I’m so thrilled to reconnect with my audiences.