Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa honoured her late husband with a poignant tribute at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Los Angeles.
The 41-year-old mother accompanied her daughters Natalia, 20, and Bianka, 6, to Swift’s first night at the SoFi Center in Los Angeles. Before arriving at the venue, Vanessa shared her eras-inspired look on Instagram, which celebrated Kobe and his known love for the pop-country sensation. On the back of her denim jacket, under stitched letters spelling “Swiftie,” she pasted a blown-up image of her husband on stage with Swift in 2015. The photo was snapped the night Kobe bestowed a banner upon the Grammy-winning artist for breaking the record for most sold-out shows at the Staples Center.
Vanessa bejeweled the image with colorful beads and detailed the front pocket with a felt heart reading, “Say you’ll remember me,” a nod to Swift’s 2015 song “Wildest Dreams.” In the second slide of her Instagram story, above the heart-shaped patch, she tagged Kobe’s Instagram account and titled the look, “Mambacita.”
The following images exposed the celebrity mom’s stack of friendship bracelets – an Eras Tour trend in which people trade their beaded accessories with other concert-goers – one of which read, “Kob,” and another, “Gigi” for their daughter who passed away in the same helicopter crash as Kobe in January of 2020.
Following the concert, Vanessa posted a photo of Bianka being embraced by Swift during her “22” performance. “We love you @taylorswift,” she wrote. At every Eras concert, the “Enchanted” singer will gift one of her guests with the renowned “22” black hat from the music video.
Prior to Kobe and Gianna’s sudden death, the two loved listening to Swift’s music. Kobe spoke candidly about his appreciation and respect for the 33-year-old artist’s music. In a 2019 appearance on The Jordan Harbinger Show, the NBA legend said: “I think it’s important to listen to people who do great things.”
Vanessa Bryant posted a video of her Eras Tour jacket that honoured her late husband— (@vanessabryant on Instagram)
“Taylor’s been at the top of the game for a very, very long time,” he continued. “I don’t care if you like her music or don’t like her music, look at what she’s doing. It’s frightening. It’s unbelievable to be able to pull that off over and over, and so I look at things like that to try and learn from them as much as I can.”
Vanessa included a stiched felt heart that read, ‘Say you’ll remember me’ for Kobe— (@vanessabryant on Instagram)
Swift expressed her sadness upon hearing the news that Kobe, Gianna, who was 13 at the time, and seven others perished in the helicopter crash.
Her friendship bracelets were made for Kobe, and their daughter Gianna, 13, who died in the 2020 helicopter crash as well— (@vanessabryant on Instagram)
“My heart is in pieces hearing the news of this unimaginable tragedy,” she tweeted. “I can’t fathom what the families are going through. Kobe meant so much to me and to us all. Sending my prayers, love, and endless condolences to Vanessa and the family and anyone who lost someone on that flight.”
