The daughter of celebrity couple Bing Loyzaga and Janno Gibbs sent a pair of Air Jordan 2 shoes she designed to former vice president Leni Robredo.
Creative and printmaker Alyssa “Chi” Gibbs designed Air Jordan 2s for the Titan22 x Jordan collaboration. This was released in October.
Chi is “the first woman based out of Asia to collaborate on a Jordan shoe,” according to Vogue.
Meanwhile, the shoes were personally delivered by her father Janno since Chi is currently in Singapore.
“Happy to personally deliver @chiiloyzagagibbs gift of her AirJordans to Mam @lenirobredo . We specially had a pair for her since the shoe came out but Mam was in the U.S. Chi would have loved to hand it herself but she’s in SG,” the actor-singer wrote on Instagram.
“From a woman who inspired a global brand to a woman who inspired a nation. Thrilled to see you again [Leni Robredo],” he added.
In a separate Instagram story, Chi said she asked her dad to give the pair of Titan AJ2S to Robredo, citing that the former vice president is an inspiration to her.
“She has and [always been] a huge inspiration to me. So kilig to see her get her pair. Huhuhu,” Chi said.
Robredo also took to Instagram to thank Chi and Janno.
Shoe design inspiration
Chi said her shoe design “symbolizes Filipinos and their love for basketball.”
One of the elements present in the tongue of the shoe is a palm tree.
“It’s special because it’s something recurring in my art. There are always palm trees in everything I do. So it’s a symbol of me and also a symbol of the Philippines,” the visual artist was quoted in a report as saying.
Chi also said that her design is a tribute to his grandfather Carlos “Caloy” Matute Loyzaga who represented the country in the FIBA World Championship in 1954.
“The jumping-off point for this shoe really was my grandfather and the team, the ’50s, and that whole era in general. That was what inspired our color choices, our fabric choices. I also wanted to mix in my own personal style,” she said.
“The most important element in the shoe, it’s actually hidden. It’s this graphic for the sock liner because that’s really where I was able to honor my grandfather in the team. I also love that it gives me a tropical feel,” Chi continued.
The visual artist said that it is a dream come true to work with the shoe brand.