Actor and philanthropist Edward Norton is teaming up with Oskar Metsavaht, creative director of Brazilian fashion brand Osklen and founder of Instututo E, a non profit organization,based in Rio de Janeiro, focused on sustainable projects and Joe Einhorn, creator of social shopping platform Fancy to sell a special limited edition of the jacket worn by his ‘Birdman’ character, Mike Shiner, called “The Shiner.” The jacket will be available exclusively via Fancy, and at Osklen stores in Miami and New Your City and all proceeds will go directly to benefit the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, www.MaasaiWilderness.org, an environmental protection and sustainable development project that Norton has been involved with for 12 years.
Notes Norton: “I met Oskar Metsavaht at a Rio Climate Conference. We are both environmental activists and we became friends right away. I loved his Osklen board shorts and hoodies, but my favorite piece was this great guerilla style jacket. Like something Che Guevara would have worn on a brisk day in Paris. I wore it to rehearsals and (‘Birdman’s’ director) Alejandro Iñárritu loved it and made it Mike Shiner’s uniform. He wanted one, Chivo, the film’s cinematographer wanted one, and so did many other friends so I approached Oskar with this idea.”
Osklen had stopped making the coat, but Metsavaht agreed to make a limited number of this new special edition called “The Shiner.” On creating the jacket, Oskar Metsavaht says: “Edward and I first connected over our shared passions for protecting the environment and surfing. Everyone at Osklen loved seeing our jacket on the classic character he created in one of the most audacious and original films in a long time. When Edward told us everyone wanted the coat, and proposed teaming up to turn that into something positive…we said ‘of course!’ Artistic passion and environmental sustainability are very much the spirit of Osklen, so this is a great fit.” Osklen will be donating the proceeds of the sales to Massai Wilderness CT though Instituto E.
Norton then turned to Joe Einhorn at Fancy who agreed to sell the jacket exclusively on his site so that all proceeds could be directed immediately to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Einhorn says: “Fancy is all about people sharing the things they lovewith others. When an artist like Edward has a great idea to share a really special collector’s item from a film that is already an instant classic, and to do it for a great cause…that’s a no-brainer. We love working with people like Edward and Oskar.”
Norton notes that “I love Fancy because I always find the most unique things on it. And I am thrilled that every dollar from the purchase of this special edition is being contributed by Osklen and Fancy to one of thegreatest environmental protection and sustainable development projects on the planet. So if you get this jacket for yourself or someone you love, you can have the dual pleasure of knowing that
A) there’s only a few of us that have it
B) every dollar you spent on it went to a project that is a showcase for how we’re going to meet the challenge of sustainability in the 21st Century
The jacket comes in army green, the version featured in the film, and in black, the version worn by Norton in his recent Malibu Magazine shoot and is embroidered on the inside with Norton’s signature. The piece is sized for both men and women, and can be purchased for $300 at http://fancy.to/edward.
ABOUT THE MAASAI WILDERNESS CONSERVATION TRUST:
The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust works to protect the legendary ecosystems and astounding biodiversity of East Africa through conservation that directly benefits local Maasai communities.
MWCT funds and operates programs that promote sustainable economic benefits from conserving this ecosystem. Lease payments for conservancy zones, carbon credits, payments for watershed protection, sustainable ecotourism, wildlife monitoring and security, conservation and tourism employment—these are just some of the ways MWCT is creating a cutting edge model of successful community-based conservation.
www.maasaiwilderness.org
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