Vanessa Bryant Launching Mambacita Clothing Line on What Would Have Been Her and Kobe’s Daughter Gianna’s 15th Birthday

Vanessa Bryant is celebrating her daughter’s 15th birthday in a very special way. The wife of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant announced on Friday she is launching a new clothing line called Mambacita, which is the nickname of her daughter Gianna who died in a helicopter crash with her father Kobe in January 2020. The clothing line will lunch on Gigi’s birthday, Saturday, May 1.

“Happy birthday, Gigi!” Vanessa wrote in the Instagram posts. “100% of the proceeds go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation. Unisex and Kids sizes available.” Vanessa posed in the clothes along with her daughters Natalia and Bianka. This new clothing line comes after Vanessa and Kobe Bryant’s estate announced their partnership with Nike has ended.

“Kobe’s Nike contract expired on 4/13/21,” Vanessa Bryant told ESPN in a statement. “Kobe and Nike have made some of the most beautiful basketball shoes of all time, worn and adored by fans and athletes in all sports across the globe. It seems fitting that more NBA players wear my husband’s product than any other signature shoe.” Vanessa went on to reveal what she wants for Kobe fans when it comes to his products.

“My hope will always be to allow Kobe’s fans to get and wear his products,” Vanessa said. “I will continue to fight for that. Kobe’s products sell out in seconds. That says everything. I was hoping to forge a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband’s legacy. We will always do everything we can to honor Kobe and Gigi’s legacies. That will never change.”

Since the death of Kobe and Gigi, Vanessa has done everything she can to honor them. “This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward,” she said in an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year. “Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.” Kobe was a member of the Lakers from 1996-2016 and led the team to five NBA Championships.