Levi’s “Beauty of Becoming” series spotlights Naomi Osaka, Dolores Huerta, Willow and Jaden Smith and more

Levi Strauss & Co. has tapped filmmaker Oge Egbuonu once again, this time for a campaign called “Beauty of Becoming.”

In a series of short films, 14 individuals are featured — figures in sports, entertainment, fashion, art and activism who share their triumphs and obstacles, while highlighting racial equality, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and environmental justice. The cast in the campaign include Naomi Osaka, Willow Smith, Jaden Smith, Tremaine Emory, Leyna Bloom, Haben Girma, Melina Abdullah, Dolores Huerta, Melody Ehsani, Xiye Bastida, Carlos Montes, Angela Beyince, Karla Welch and Brandon Flynn.

“Whether it’s a PSA, commercial, campaign or a film, I try to mix up the voices in whatever particular medium that I’m using,” said Egbuonu, in an interview with WWD. “I think when you mix it up and blur the line between celebrity and who we may deem as everyday people, it gives people permission to know that they can become that, too. We tend to look at people who we may see as icons or celebrities or mentors, we see them as special or extraordinary, and we think: ‘There’s just something special about them, there’s nothing special about me.’ I wanted to create a campaign that basically took the veils off and showed that no one starts off great. People become that…And so, at any point in life, you can become who you’re meant to be.”

The idea of becoming is to “evolve into who you’re meant to be,” continued Egbuonu, who collaborated with Levi’s on a voting campaign. “I had really been sitting with and meditating on what 2020 had meant for a lot of people. I had conversations with friends and friends of friends, and the theme that kept resonating across the board was that people are starting to realize what 2020 meant for them.”

In the end, she said, the universal question people are asking themselves is: Are you living your best and authentic life?

The new campaign premiered last Thursday and will run for a few months.

—
Photo Credit:  Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com