Bimma Williams has grown a platform as the co-founder of Claima, which helps people promote telling their stories in their most authentic fashion. With also a hand in the sneaker industry, Williams knows the ins and outs of the business and also has a shoe line that tells his stories, as he hopes it inspires the next creative to shine their light in whatever they do.
His latest collaboration is between Claima Stories and Clarks Originals on the Wallabee. The campaign is inspired by his mother, from her words of encouragement to how she chooses to express herself through fashion.
How was the experience using your mom’s voiceover for your shoe campaign?
It was special for a different number of reasons. I’m an only child. My parents divorced when I was nine, and then my father passed away over a decade ago, so I only have one parent still alive here today. The one thing that I think about in that is wanting to cherish every moment that I can with my mom, and the partnership in this project presented an opportunity where I could share something that I love with my mom. Trying to work in footwear and sneakers was not a thing that was common in Louisiana, so we’re still breaking through those ceilings of thought that we can place on ourselves sometimes, and sometimes it happened in our household. The funny thing was that the voiceover that you hear in the video for the campaign was a real conversation I’m having with my mom, and ever so often, parents are going to parent; it doesn’t matter how old you are, they always are going to parent you. I was just expressing some of the frustrations and challenges of being in business, especially this year. It’s been one of those years. She was offering this encouragement, and it was what I needed to hear right now, and then I thought that other people needed to hear this right now. I didn’t catch the front half of what she was saying, but I got the back half, and the sentiment that she was trying to get across was good things take time, and sometimes those things aren’t easy. They don’t come instantly, and there are all these kinds of flows, but she was saying to stay consistent.
What does the color purple mean to you?
If you know anything about Louisiana, purple is all up, and through that state, whether it is from LSU or whether it is in New Orleans when it comes to Mardi Gras, it’s a part of our culture. Being someone who’s from there, who may not be there day to day, I always wanted to figure out a way where I could still represent home in some capacity and also leverage that to other creatives to tell them no matter where you’re at or where you come from, you can create a shoe, start your own business, and follow your creative path.
