DOCKERS X SELEMA MASEKELA COLLECTION DEBUTS

For Selema Masekela, there is no box, barrier, or border that can contain or limit what he is supposed to be. “As a kid, I was always trying to figure out which, amongst all these things that shape me, is the singular definition of my identity,” he says. “Once you come to the place of being, ‘Oh, all of this is me,’ it’s super freeing.” This freedom to embrace all aspects of oneself is exactly the ethos behind a brand new collection from Selema Masekela – entrepreneur, musician, activist, and voice of action sports – and Dockers.

Launching on September 15th, the Dockers x Selema Masekela collection – consisting of cozy crewneck sweatshirts, two unique tees, and classic Dockers chinos – serves as a love note to Selema’s father, the legendary South African musician and activist Hugh Masekela. “He was such a trailblazer, and just a wildly curious human being. And that curiosity is what allowed him to do all the things that he did,” said Masekela. It’s that same curiosity that has allowed Selema to find success in so many avenues and walks of life, including TV, music, surfing, snowboarding, fashion, journalism, and activism.

This collection also brings together the shared optimism of both Selema and the Dockers brand. Like Selema, Dockers is committed to making a positive impact on the world, whether through environmental practices like its Water<Less® manufacturing process, or by simply encouraging the pursuit of a well-lived life. It’s an approach that comes from the California lifestyle – with its laid-back aesthetic and love of the outdoors – as well as from the partners’ shared desire to leave the world a better place than they found out.

“Selema’s style is cool, relaxed, and down to earth, which is exactly what we wanted to embody with this collection,” said Nic Rendic, Global Head of Design for Dockers. “Working with Selema has been so fluid from both a style and a values perspective, and our hope is that Selema’s free spirit comes to life through each piece.”

Selema worked with both the Dockers design team to conceptualize each style and with Los Angeles-based artist Rannel Ngumuya to design the range of graphics featured in the collection. The graphics are inspired by the many elements of Selema’s life, including his relationship with his father, his music with his band Alekesam, his love of surfing and the ocean, and his South African heritage. Graphics include a mirrored “Selema-Alekesam” font in the shape of a surfboard – used both as a stand-alone graphic on a red tee, and as a palm-tree-and-surfer yellow, black, and red graphic on a white tee. Alekesam and ocean-inspired graphics also feature on both a gray and a black crew neck sweatshirt, and on a special edition pair of harvest gold Selema chinos.

“I hope that people vibe with the collection in a way that gives them a little license to take some chances,” said Masekela. “I hope it’s the kind of thing that people wear to go be a little rambunctious. And, more than anything, I hope that people take away from the collection a knowledge that, whatever space they want to play in, the barriers they’re told exist are not real. Just embrace and step into all spaces as if they are yours, because they are.”

The Dockers x Selema Masekela collection ($50-$100) will be available exclusively on Dockers.com starting Thursday, September 15th.