Fenty x PUMA is back. Rihanna first joined the sportswear brand as creative director in 2014 and was as playful as she was disruptive in her output with its first collection in 2015. She gave us three years of athleisure meets luxury goodness before taking a hiatus to focus on her lingerie and beauty labels.
She took to Instagram in March this year to announce (a-la Michael Jordan’s infamous fax) that “She’s Back.” Her return to PUMA is with a multi-year partnership and numerous product launches. The first product of this renewed partnership has now launched, the Avanti sneaker.
Rihanna’s love of football coupled with the sports’ great influence off the pitch served as the starting point for this footwear franchise. Rihanna’s take of this classic style paves the way for a new era of sport fashion collaborations with PUMA.
In 1968, the original PUMA king football boot was born, worn by icons like Eusebio, Pelé and Maradona. In 1978, the PUMA miele started a new jogging shoe franchise which would eventually evolve into the PUMA Easy Rider. In 1998, Jil Sander and PUMA launched the first ever fashion collaboration blending these two styles with the Jil Sander King. This shoe served as the design inspiration of the Avanti which was later established by PUMA in 2001. Now in 2023, Rihanna has added her personal design language and creative elements, from the details of the leather to the gum of the outsole, putting her very own spin on this classic PUMA style.
“I wanted to bring something iconic from the archives to the street, and the late great Pelé made the Avanti shoe so iconic. ” said Rihanna.
The FENTY x PUMA Avanti will be available from 16 September 2023 on PUMA.com, PUMA retail stores and Shelflife. A second Avanti drop will follow this fall.
Check out the campaign video below.
