Actress, artist, and entrepreneur Braelyn Simone, popularly known as B. Simone, is the first woman to produce an exclusive collection for Footaction, a subsidiary of a giant footwear retailer, Footlocker. Her collection was successful partly based on her marketing prowess and her over 5 million Instagram followers.
Simone’s multi-year partnership with Footaction was born out of their mutual interests. They launched a successful women’s capsule collection, branded with her tag line “Baby Girl” and year of birth “1990” in November 2020.
The entrepreneur launched her second line with Footaction “Faith Over Fear” and “Dream Bigger” on the weekend of International Women’s Day to encourage and help women maneuver their way through life, head held high as she did.
“Faith and fear can’t coexist, so you have to choose one,” she said. “And if you want to be successful, you have to take risks. Choosing faith is mandatory.”
This release is also Footaction’s way of amplifying their commitment to female consumers especially during Women’s History Month with their N 1 Way/ Seeing her campaign. “Footaction is focused on supporting Black Entrepreneurs, and we are excited to partner with B. Simone on her journey to inspire her fans,” said Patrick Walsh, Vice President & General Manager, Footaction.
“During a time of uncertainty for youth, she is the embodiment of persevering through life’s challenges and manifesting your dreams.”
Simone has been open about her struggles and successes to her followers on Instagram, unlike most influencers who pick and choose the aspects of their lives they share with their followers. Her frankness helped her build an organic following right from the onset, who have supported her brand and hustle for what it stands for. That is what Footaction seeks to celebrate with their partnership.
The 30-year-old actress started pursuing her journey to fame in her early 20s after she moved from her hometown in Dallas, Texas to Hollywood. All she had was her willpower and a dream of someday having an established career in the industry.
She worked odd jobs in restaurants, at Aldo, and was a hairstylist as well. By this time, Simone had started documenting her journey for her then few followers not hiding any details even when she had to make the floor of her friend’s house home for six months.
“I’m transparent, I’m vulnerable. I show when I’m making money, I show when I’m not making money. I show when I’m up, I show when I’m down. I showed my million-dollar journey and also showed when I was sleeping on the floor for six months when I first moved to Atlanta.
“I show my followers everything just to let them know like, I’m the girl next door. I am you. [There is] nothing that I’m doing that you can’t do,” she said.
“And I think foot action has a lot of the same messaging as me — just motivating supporting these consumers and these fans and the supporters.”
The media personality who has now gained so much traction on social media caught her big break on Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out. She then launched her beauty brand with time and did a few stints as a stand-up comedian after her rapping career never took off the ground.
About her new fashion venture with Footaction, Simone sees it as a manifestation of her childhood ‘love affair’ with the Footaction brand.
According to her, she has patronized the brand since she was a child and the collaboration is due to her writing down her dreams, committing to working on them, and manifesting all that she has accomplished by putting “Faith over Fear and “Chasing her Dreams.”
The one person who has inspired her to speak her truth without fear or favor is “WAP” singer, Cardi B.
According to Simone, women have been held back for so long in so many ways that it is liberating to have people and be part of the few that will call things out when they do not add up or speak their truth to pave a way for others.
“She speaks her mind and guess what? She is human and she is 100% herself … Yes, she’s a celebrity, but she doesn’t go ‘Oh, the media… Oh, what about my PR?’ If she believes in something, she’s going to say it. If she does not like something, she’s going to say it,” B. Simone said in praise of the “Bodak Yellow” rapper.
