Giulia Zecchini Wants You To Remember: ‘Community Over Competition’
The worlds of sneakers, sports and gaming are inextricably linked, and it’s at this intersection where you’ll find Giulia Zecchini. Having worked professionally in a variety of fields, from Formula One to basketball, Zecchini currently works as a commercial strategy director in the gaming world. While always making the time to hoop, she’s also a presenter and host for the International Basketball Federation and EuroLeague Women, and in 2019, co-founded the Instagram-based community Sneaker Sisterhood. The platform aims to ‘shed a light on the lack of coverage/voice’ for women in sneakers. Continuing our International Women’s Month series ‘Taking Control of Their Narrative’, we had the chance to chat with Zecchini about this and much more.
You work across so many facets within sports and sneakers. What do you love most about the way they intersect?
It is a very natural fit across a lot of my passion points, especially basketball, sneakers, fashion and gaming. It all works together quite seamlessly, and I am able to jump in between these projects and intertwine them to show how truly relevant to the overall culture they all are. My favourite aspect is probably that at the intersection of it all, you can always meet new people that are super passionate and knowledgeable and also sit across these different pillars and can always offer a new insight on it all.
Among the things you do, you’re one of the co-founders of Sneaker Sisterhood. For those who are just getting acquainted, what is it all about?
Sneaker Sisterhood is a female-led community. We started off online in 2019 as a place to showcase how multifaceted women are in the sneakersphere and to shed a light on the lack of coverage/voice we were being offered, but it has grown to be so much more. Not only are we able to showcase women and how diverse we are, but we can also tap into female entrepreneurs, creatives, performers etc. The talent that we have in our community is what has made it really special, and we are now able to collaborate with brands to showcase the different walks of life that all converge into sneakers and what makes every individual unique in their journey.
What are your goals for Sneaker Sisterhood?
The goals for Sneaker Sisterhood are to keep growing into more markets. We are UK-based, so we primarily host events in London and surrounding areas, but we think our in-person events really add a lot of value to our community, so we hope to be able to collaborate with like-minded women in other markets to be able to grow our footprint, passion and vision.
What’s been your favourite collaboration through Sneaker Sisterhood and why?
My favourite collaboration we have worked on as of late has to be what we did with BSTN and Jumpman for IWD 2023. We were able to host an intimate workshop with some of our community members at the newly opened BSTN store, and the incredible Dani Dawkes hosted an upcycling workshop to show how we can be more sustainable with our love of fashion and sneakers and how we can celebrate women and our creativity.
Our theme for International Women’s Month 2023 has been, ‘How are women taking control of their narrative?’. What does this mean to you?
I think the most important element of taking control of the narrative is to show up as you. Unapologetically and fully you. The power that we hold as individuals is truly what sets us apart. Nobody can offer what you have to offer, and as women, we really have different experiences and paths that have shaped us into who we are, which give us a fantastic outlook and a fresh approach in a lot of spaces where we haven’t been able to be before.
How are you looking to keep evolving this space?
To keep evolving the space, I will personally keep focusing on sharing time, experiences and opportunities with the women around me. The phrase ‘community over competition’ is one that truly resonates with me, and to go off of what I said earlier about individuality, I really believe that all of us have space in this industry to make a mark and gain experience. I want to make sure that I am always pushing my community forward and giving everyone a chance to shine in whatever their element or comfort might be – be it in front or behind a camera, on the creative or corporate side, or anything else they might have in mind. My favourite overall message for women everywhere is ‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.’ by the great Oscar Wilde.
What’s something you’re looking forward to in sneakers in 2023?
For 2023, moving away from what I have discussed previously and more centred around releases, I am really looking forward to some classics coming back and gaining some more traction again. I am a big fan of Foamposites, and I heard they are making a comeback, so hopefully, I’ll be able to get my hands on some goodies!
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