E31 Initiation is born out of the notion of “leverage”, presenting a uniform of sorts as a welcome guide to the world of AKME. The brand’s “welcome package” is a radical take on the propaganda strategy traditionally used to justify and beautify ”the new place” to working-class minorities. The collection, Diaz notes, “represents the beginning of the process of adjusting who you are with what your surroundings want you to be, the concept of trying to mimic and mold yourself to be a part of something that was designed for you to never fully be a part of.” The capsule comprises limited-edition pairs of footwear in five different silhouettes, all designed by Jesus and hand-manufactured at the factory in Los Angeles. Emphasizing transparency, quality, and accessibility, the shoes are crafted from ultra-durable horse-tanned cow leather, chiefly used for work boots, and are rendered in dense matte black. The silhouettes redesign the elements of various past and contemporary footwear types, distorting, merging, and remixing proportions, line work, and construction methods, resulting in a familiar unfamiliarity, “an identity crisis.” A capsule about the birth of a pre-condition and a concept called leverage. A beginning, when identity was the only currency. A time when want and need were present but neglected, laws of power were hidden, understanding was taken, and confusion was given through acceptance labeled as a choice instead of need. The start of mass-producing enemies, through the perception of the necessity of order. When the feeling of being alienated and excluded was by design to have dues paid with no receipts, for assets that were pre-determined for one not to keep. The concept of the initiation of a game was not taught but learned through generations of loss and grief. The beginning of a question.