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The Best of PUMA 2023

the-best-of-puma-2023

2023 marks PUMA’s 75th anniversary, and so it was only right that the Big Cat celebrated the milestone with a series of headline-grabbing sneaker stories and a ton of great releases. Over the past 12 months, PUMA have confirmed some of their most influential partnerships to date, taken on the year’s biggest trends and pushed boundaries across multiple sports. But to make sure you didn’t miss anything, here’s what went on for the Big Cat in 2023.

She’s Back

Puma started the year off on the right foot, as it was revealed back in February that Rihanna would be returning to their roster. Sneakerheads all over will remember the singer stepping onto the sneaker scene back in 2015 with her FENTY x PUMA range, which brought us cult classic styles like the FENTY Creeper and Fluff Slide. While the project was shelved just three years later (RiRi is a busy gal after all), the announcement that the duo were rekindling the partnership this year was music to many fans’ ears. In September, we welcomed the PUMA Avanti onto the scene – a football shoe-inspired sneaker that was poised to continue PUMA’s involvement in the terrace trend – and later, RiRi reinvented a classic when she dropped the FENTY x PUMA Phatty, an updated take on the fan-fave Creeper.

Palermo! Palermo! Palermo!

The Avanti wasn’t the only time PUMA put their twist on a footy-inspired sneaker, as the Big Cat dialled up efforts behind its Palermo silhouette. Capturing the essence of football casual style, ‘Blokecore’ continued to trend globally, so what better way to top off your ‘fit than with a mainstay of the original movement? The PUMA Palermo has a long-documented history on the English football terraces, which made it the perfect answer to the trend. The brand even shot a Palermo campaign with Man City sensation Jack Grealish, who they signed in March – as if we needed any more convincing that the Palermo is where it’s at.

The Big Cat Races Ahead

Formula 1 is having quite the resurgence right now, and it’s even looking likely to be fashion’s next obsession. With a storied history in motorsport, it’s no surprise that PUMA leapt at the chance to become Formula 1’s official licensing partner and exclusive trackside retailer. This means that PUMA is now the official supplier at F1 races and has the right to produce F1 branded apparel, footwear and accessories. The brand wasted no time in doing so, producing a limited-edition capsule for the Las Vegas Grand Prix and going on to announce that A$AP Rocky would serve as the partnership’s creative director.

As if that wasn’t enough, PUMA also announced an extension of its partnership with Scuderia Ferrari and celebrated the news with a three-way collaborative collection with Josh Vides.

Skepta Shut Down London

After announcing the start of a partnership with Skepta back in 2022, the rapper finally shared a first look at his collaborative Velophasis at Paris Fashion Week in January. Though things remained fairly quiet for the rest of the year, we were then treated to more previews when Skepta brought his MAINS label back with a bang at London Fashion Week in the summer. We’re still eagerly awaiting their arrival, so expect to see this colab snatch up a spot on next year’s list too.

Ballin’ With Balmain

PUMA’s place in the world of high fashion isn’t to be underestimated. Having pioneered the high-end colab trend back in the 90s, the brand now has ties with Ottolinger and has also worked with Balmain. Back in February, PUMA linked up with the French luxury fashion house for their second collaboration, which saw Olivier Rousteing put his spin on a basketball shoe. Working on the Balmain Court, the colab effortlessly blended the worlds of sports and luxury, decorating the silhouette with Big Cat branding and flashy gold-toned accents.

In Bed With Ottolinger

Speaking of Ottolinger, PUMA teamed with the Berlin-based luxury label to reintroduce the Mostro Boot. Proving that they could easily get fashion’s finest on board, the duo put out a concise capsule exploring femininity outside of gender constraints. The knee-high boots spoke to the emerging archival footwear trend, once again putting PUMA at the forefront of the next big thing. Mark our words that this isn’t the last time you’ll be seeing the Mostro, as we’re predicting big things for the classic silhouette next year.

Voices of a Re:Generation

While most brands’ sustainability efforts haven’t exactly been front of mind throughout 2023, PUMA are cracking on with theirs. The brand has enlisted the help of Aishwarya Sharma, Andrew Burgess, Jade Roche and Luke Jaque-Rodney as part of an initiative that sees the Big Cat working with young artists and activists to identify areas where they can make positive changes. This team has helped shape PUMA’s FOREVER.BETTER sustainability strategy, and produced a podcast series aimed at engaging the brand’s GEN-Z fanbase on sustainable matters. PUMA are also continuing to work hard on its RE:FIBRE programme, which allows anyone to be able to take part in creating a more sustainable process, simply by donating things they no longer wear. They also followed up on their 2021 RE:SUEDE experiment, as they managed to successfully turn the sneakers back into compost.

Want more end-of-year content? Why not check out the best colabs of 2023?

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