As I write this article, I’m wearing the footwear I’ve spent the most time in over the past year: my lavender UGG Fluff Yeah Slide Slippers. They were also my shoes of choice when I hopped on the phone with SAG Award-nominated actress and writer Hari Nef, who stars alongside Lil Nas X in the American footwear company’s fifth annual PROUD Prom campaign. Just minutes into our conversation, we established that the slides are The Most Comfortable Slippers on the market, Nef admitting that she “literally stole [them] off the set of the shoot.”
Since UGG footwear’s founding in 1978, the brand’s undeniably grown and evolved. “I grew up in New England, so it was all about the UGG,” Nef tells me during our interview, reflecting on her early days wearing the comfy-cozy footwear. Back then, the Young New York author says they were a “feminine status symbol”—and that struck a chord with me, having been one of the many middle-schoolers who asked for a pair for Hanukkah. Today, though, equity is at the absolute forefront of the conversation—a commitment that resonates with Nef, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
For the record, Nef isn’t one to say “yes” to a fashion campaign, just ’cause. Nef is big into supporting the collaborations UGG has done with designers in New York, like Eckhaus Latta and Telfar (two designers she interned for in her early days in NYC). “Seeing that UGG can identify talent and taste at this label to secure collaborations with up-and-coming people when the call came through from UGG, I was not only enthusiastic about being a part of a fashion campaign, but I was also like, ‘These people are cool, and I trust them because my friends trust them.'”
Obviously, we can’t talk about the new UGG campaign without talking about the stunning photos shot by Danielle Levitt (who’s one of the first people in New York “years and years and years” ago). Nef and her co-campaign stars pose in various versions of the Southern California-based brand’s rainbow-colored slide slippers, teamed with vibrant clothing and makeup, set against a party-ready backdrop. “It was nice to end a workday with my feet feeling better than they did at the beginning instead of worse, which is how it usually goes,” Nef said with a laugh, reflecting on shoot day. “It was an easy, breezy, beautiful day.”
As a leading voice of UGG pride, Nef’s first priority is to help UGG “sell these goddamn slides so that we can fundraise for GLAAD!” But also, she encourages supporters to do their part on a local level too. “If there are people in my community reading this right now, I also encourage everyone to think locally, as well as nationally and globally.” One way she’s doing that right now is by working with Queercare in NYC, an organization that pairs volunteers with trans people recovering from gender-affirming surgery who don’t have a support system to care for them during such a vulnerable time.
Starting on Thursday, May 20, for each pair of UGG Disco Stripe Slides sold on the brand’s website, the company will donate $25 of the marked retail price to GLAAD—a leading media advocacy organization accelerating LGBTQ acceptance and equality—up to a maximum guaranteed donation of $125,000. “I would probably be wary of joining a fashion campaign of this scale if there weren’t some resources being funneled back into the community,” Nef explains. “GLAAD is an organization I’ve been a donor of, and they have their eyes on the big picture for the community.”
Shop the brand’s slides, as seen in the new UGG campaign below.
All products featured on GRAZIA are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Grazia may earn an affiliate commission.
