Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum selling recording artist and label owner, Lil Wayne, has officially announced the launch of his partnership with Parisian watch and accessory company, Wize & ope. Lil Wayne celebrated the announcement by making an appearance at the wize & ope flagship concept store in Paris, France on October 15th, the evening before his sold-out arena show at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy. This exciting announcement marks Lil Wayne’s first partnership with an international accessory brand.
My personal style, as well as my everyday lifestyle, has always been about individuality and being open minded,” said Lil Wayne. “I was drawn to wize&ope because of their amazing design, fresh packaging and their support of individuality. I’m excited to bring wize&ope watches stateside and inspire their future collections.
Wayne, a long time fan of the brand who was often photographed wearing wize&ope products, officially became one of the major shareholders of wize&ope in Fall 2013. Wayne’s roll will include helping the company promote its products as well also inspire its future collections. Lil Wayne’s longtime managers, Bluerprint Group co-CEOs Cortez Bryant and Gee Roberson, and Efe Ogbeni of Worldpassport brokered the deal.
Created in 2008 in Paris, France, by Victor Louzon, and incorporated with Benjamin Bettane, wize&ope takes its name from two fictional characters named “Wize” and “Ope”. Wize is an alien who visited Earth to experience our pop culture and enjoy Earthly music, as all diversity had disappeared from his own planet, while Ope, whose name stands for “open minded”, is Wize’s sidekick and guide.
Drawing inspiration from street-wear, action sports, global pop culture and hip hop culture, wize&ope has been embraced by teenagers and active young adults who can relate to the values embodies by the character of the brand. Although the brand is anchored in the watch category, wize&ope has recently begun offering sungla@$$@, toys, headphones and limited apparel.
wize&ope products are currently available for sale in Europe and Asia and will be launched, with Lil Wayne serving as their watch Brand Ambassador, in North America in February 2014.
