Vanessa Bryant Announces 'Mambacita' Clothing Line Honoring Gianna Bryant

Tim Daniels @TimDanielsBRFeatured ColumnistApril 30, 2021

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2017, file photo, from left, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, wife Vanessa and daughter Natalia Diamante Bryant are seen before an NCAA college women's basketball game between Connecticut and UCLA, in Los Angeles. Vanessa Bryant says she is focused on “finding the light in darkness” in an emotional story in People magazine. She details how she attempts to push forward after her husband, Kobe Bryant, and daughter Gigi died in a helicopter crash in early 2020. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

Vanessa Bryant announced the Mambacita clothing line will launch Saturday to honor Gianna Bryant on what would have been her 15th birthday.

"Happy birthday, Gigi! 100 percent of the proceeds go to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation," Vanessa wrote on Instagram.

Nick DePaula @NickDePaula
Vanessa Bryant announces the launch of “Mambacita” clothing, releasing tomorrow on May 1st, what would’ve been Gigi’s 15th birthday. 100% of proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. https://t.co/gqi3MtU5Fk

Gianna, her father—NBA legend Kobe Bryant—and seven other people were killed in a January 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

The Mamba Sports Academy, which was launched by Kobe in 2018, was rebranded to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation in February 2020 to honor the legacies of both members of the Bryant family.

The foundation aims to "fund programs in underserved communities" while remembering Kobe and Gianna, who was emerging as a basketball star in her own right, through "youth sports and charitable actions."