Ronnie Fieg X PUMA Paris Pop-Up Interview
No one sleeps on colabs and Ronnie Fieg doesn’t do much sleeping either – the dude’s hustle is legendary. We stole a New York minute from the man to talk about his new colab and his Parisian plans.
Hey Ronnie, where are you today and what are you wearing on your feet?
I’m sitting in my SoHo office wearing a pair of Visvim FBT Renos in sand leather.
NICE. You’ve been mad busy this year, do you ever stop hustling for a second?
New York is cut-throat. If you want to stay ahead of the curve there is no time to rest. I relax with dinners at my sister’s house every other Friday night, and take half a day on Sundays to watch the Giants, Boardwalk Empire and Homeland – that’s about it.
So, tell us about your new deal with PUMA. These Disc Blazes are ruggedly handsome.
Thanks Woody! I needed to follow up last year’s Disc release with a different approach. I wanted to continue utilising the upper I designed two years ago but with a twist of high fashion this time around. The uppers on both models are extremely premium and consist of all the bells and whistles I would want to see out of a collaborative project. The black pebbled leather, mint oily pig skin, 1H coral-brushed nubuck, black 3M medial Formstripe, frosted Disc cage, translucent outsoles, micro perforated COA sock liners, and black 3M speckled midsoles make these the most premium Puma shoes produced to date, in my opinion.
You really dig the Disc Blaze huh?
In my opinion, the Disc is one of the most slept-on and underrated tech retro runners. With the symmetrical toe box, they are now in my top three all-time favourite silhouettes. The Disc deserves a lot more respect and attention and I’m here to help with that. The 3M and the nubuck leather is insane.
How do you go about selecting the materials?
Picking materials is my favourite part of putting a project together. I like pushing the envelope with the brands to help offer leathers and materials that you won’t usually see. Each design has its own concept or inspiration; the materials chosen need to reflect the mood I’m in when working on the project.
What’s the French connection to this release? NYC not big enough for RF?
Haha, New York is the centre of gravity and sometimes you get sucked into a one-dimensional way of seeing things. I make it my business to think outside the box and explore other territories. Paris is such a great city and I have my very good friend Francky out there, so this just makes sense. The COA (Coat Of Arms) project was all about Paris Fashion Week and getting together with my favourite menswear designers to take what I do to the next level. I wanted to work on a collection that will cater not only to my existing sneaker consumer but to actually hit a different demographic, and what better way than opening a beautiful pop-up shop in the heart of Paris? People will be shocked with how beautiful the shop will be. I’m still shocked myself.
Is there some apparel to go with the shoes?
There are three sets of apparel that will be available with this project. I collaborated with two of the best independent fashion brands, John Elliott and Isaora. The collaborative collections are very, very strong and consist of all black pieces with 3M detailing. Aside from both of those collections, there will also be a six-piece Kith capsule that will consist of special Mercer pants and unique tops.
Let’s look ahead to 2014. What do you see?
I see an over-saturated market, which makes my job a bit more challenging. I enjoy the challenges and I have 2014 mapped out with products that will hopefully make a positive impact in the marketplace. Woody, you and I do this for a living, this is all we know. I feel like it is our responsibility to help take the footwear world to the next level!
JANUARY 16-22
KITH x PARIS POP-UP STORE
23 rue du roi de Sicile, Paris, 75004
COPPING PROCEDURE:
Getting your feet into a pair of these is a little complex. Check the info below and peep the full details .
The PUMA Disc Blaze COA will launch at the COA pop up in Paris which will be open from January 16th to 22nd at 23 Rue De Roi De Sicile. The store will be open from 11am-7pm. To purchase the Ronnie Fieg x PUMA Disc Blaze COA shoes, Kith will be distributing tickets to those in line starting January 15th at 10am on a first come, first serve basis with a scheduled time to shop the following day for the shoes. Kith will be handing out 84 tickets per day for an opportunity to purchase a pair of the Ronnie Fieg x PUMA shoes on the following day with a valid ticket. Daily updates will be sent out via Twitter (@KithSet) when all the tickets are given out for that day. With a ticket, customers will be allowed to purchase one pair of Ronnie Fieg x PUMA Disc Blaze COA shoes with only one colorway per ticket as well as the full Kith COA collection. The shoes will retail for 165 Euros.