Exclusive: FCTRY LAb to Launch Shoe Collabs With Miami Dolphins Cornerback Jalen Ramsey & Rapper Symba
Stephen Garner
Senior Editor
Just nine months after selling out its first release, BIPOC-led, L.A.-based footwear prototyping lab and venture studio FCTRY LAb is set to launch its latest projects.
Consisting of two footwear styles, FCTRY LAb has partnered with Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey and rapper Symba to create their own signature shoes.
Ramsey’s release is the all-new Cleat RNR, which is described as a lifestyle sneaker inspired by the JR1 cleats he wears on the field on game day. As for Symba’s collab, he has developed the STMPR sneakers. The “Never End Up Broke” rapper has been involved with the development of the sneakers since the early days of the project and will be performing in them at his upcoming concerts.
“The STMPR embodies my essence as an artist,” Symba told FN. “For those larger-than-life moments on stage, tour and everything in between. They are versatile and adapt to my fast-paced lifestyle. I want my fans to feel a part of my world in this new boot I’ve created with FCTRY LAb. This one’s for the culture.”
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FCTRY LAb founder Omar Bailey added that the STMPR and Cleat RNR are “more than just shoes.”
“They represent empowerment and independence in a way that we’ve never seen before in the footwear industry,” Bailey told FN. “Jalen and Symba both have the appetite to create something that they can own. They’re both wonderful human beings and have been a pleasure to work with, and I am glad that FCTRY LAb can play a role in actualizing their ambitions.”
To celebrate these two new collaborations, FCTRY LAb will host an event at Canvas Wynwood in Miami on Friday night from 6-10 p.m., coinciding with the Art Basel fair taking over the city this week.
FCTRY LAb was founded by Bailey, who once led the Yeezy-Adidas Innovation Lab for Kanye West, and it has seen steady growth in the last year.
In October, the company released its second shoe, the FCTRY MOCC. The moccasin-inspired mono-material product followed the company’s first shoe prototype, the Knight RNR, which launched in March.
FCTRY LAb ramped up operations In December 2022, when the company secured $6 million in financing from a diverse group of venture capital firms, top professional athletes and angel investors including the co-founder of Tinder via Time Zero Capital, the co-founder of WeWork, the West Coast head of Warburg Pincus and a consortium of NBA and NFL stars via Chicago-based Aurelien Capital.
At the time of the investment, Bailey told FN that the company will use the investment to finish building out the company’s lab in Los Angeles, with the goal to build a new business aimed at democratizing sneaker production and open-source innovation for emerging and established designers and brands of all sizes.
And just one year later, Bailey is happy with the company’s success so far. “FCTRY LAb is the result of a journey that goes back three decades, starting with me picking up a pencil at the age of 7 and sketching my first sneaker,” Bailey said on Friday. “What we are experiencing as a company is something I’ve envisioned through that journey, and the recent overwhelming support is something that makes me and our team very happy. We believe that our future is bright and we look forward to continuing sharing our creations with the world.”
