Puma returned to New York Style Week for the first time in 5 years on Tuesday evening — with prime fashions, together with Winnie Harlow, strolling the runway with champion athletes, together with Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, on the June Ambrose-curated phygital extravaganza.
The occasion, dubbed “Futrograde,” was vastly completely different than Puma’s final NYFW outing, which centered round Rihanna, then Puma’s star collaborator. This time round, the model — which is racking up main gross sales and earnings wins because it approaches its 75-year milestone subsequent yr, wished to showcase a wider vary of expertise because it seems to be to seize an even bigger piece of the style market. Puma used the present to ship placing messages concerning the energy of range (with its good casting and funky crowd), sustainability, genderless trend and the metaverse.
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The experiential present, held downtown at Cipriani, featured a conventional runway format and experiential components, with theatrical dancers showcasing the brand new 3-D Nitro NFRNO and Nitro Fastroid sneakers. The kicks are the star of Puma’s first-ever foray into the metaverse with “Black Station,” which options NFTS with the limited-edition bodily sneakers.
Dan Lecca/Courtesy of Puma
Whereas the model is firmly targeted on the long run, it’s additionally celebrating its previous. Heritage designs components – from the T7 track-inspired formstrip to the long-lasting leaping emblem – converged with futuristic kinds. Puma spotlighted collaborations from a various vary of companions: Harlem type icon Dapper Dan, Palomo, the genderless label from Spain, fashionable soccer membership AC Milan and fast-rising Parisian model Koché all received their time within the highlight — and all confirmed completely different sides of the model.
Whereas there was rather a lot to see IRL, the digital components had been memorable too. Prime athletes Neymar and Skylar Diggins Smith had been 3D scanned previous to the present and appeared digitally on LED screens flanking the runway.
Dan Lecca
Ambrose’s four-decade run in trend gave her a novel perspective because the present’s curator.
“My life and work has been rooted in street-culture and creating the connection between city sensibilities and industries. Once I entered the enterprise 4 many years in the past, my mission was to affect generations of people that dream about being seen,” she mentioned. “I need to join the emotional narrative of our lives, to the present, by means of the cyclical nature of trend.”
Dan Lecca/Courtesy of Puma
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