Dear Nike, why are the trainers for girls always so bland?…

This very question has been bothering Emily Hodgson and Emilie Riis for some time now.

They are the brains behind a brand new campaign to make Nike’s coolest men’s trainers available in women’s sizes. They say that there is a real shortage in what women want (…never underestimate the relationship between a woman and her footwear!). Their crusade operates under the name Purple Unicorn Planet (PUP) and centres on an online campaign and website disguised as a fantasy trainer shop. Here is what they had to say to styleAble:

Emily Hodgson:

I’m a 25 year old Creative Producer from London born and bread. I work in integrated advertising producing everything from TV ads to viral weirdness. I keep a keen eye on fashion and technology, which went to good use creating PUP. What a great time to be young – with the internet at your disposal. I feel infiltrated with data overload, and constantly feel like I’ve had a hunch or had a feeling about something – and not acted on it. From talking with Emilie, we worked out we had similar frustrations with fashion – why could we not buy the trainers we wanted to in our sizes? Fed up of sitting back and watching things play out, you can talk something to death, but actually making it and getting it out there was important to me.

And it doesn’t hurt that it’s about fashion…

Feminism is an interesting topic, but PUP is not about feminism. It’s about fashion and the selection of trainers. It’s about the colourways, the patterns and the designs that today’s women want. And it seems that there is a shortage in what we are being offered. We know that other women feel the same way, so let’s join forces and change it up. It would be incredible to be asked to design our own trainer. We know what girls want so it would be great to bring it to them. This is by no means an attack on Nike, but our ultimate aim is to bring the existing cool men’s trainers into manufacturing for women.

Emilie Riis:

I’m 27 years old. My passport is Danish but I’ve been living in London since I moved over to study. I have always worked in advertising and currently work at 18 Feet & Rising as a Strategist. I have been looking for that perfect pair of trainers and my search took me to Miami (the capital of cool trainers). Needless to say I returned empty handed. Talking to friends, searching online I realised that I wasn’t alone on my quest and joined forces with Emily. We see a gap in the market, and we want to close it. It’s a very simple question – why are all women’s trainers always so bland? – with a very simple solution – make the cool men’s trainers in our sizes. If we succeed with this, and Nike changes it up, we would be really happy and excited about the fact that we, and all the people who support our mission, helped bring cool trainers to the girls.

Right now, we are taking it one day at a time, our aim is clear and we are working really hard to get it out there. In the future we would love to stroll down the street in some crisp s**t hot trainers, knowing that two girls got Nike’s attention and managed to make all trainers available to everyone.