Riri can do no wrong in our eyes — her now-iconic Super Bowl performance comes to mind — and you bet the musician, style icon, mom, and beauty mogul’s always work, work, workin’ on things that inspire us. This time, it’s the revival of FENTY x PUMA, where Rihanna has taken on the role of Creative Director in a multi-year partnership that kicks off with new versions of the football boot-inspired Avanti.
The original Avanti sneaker, with its buttery-soft vintage leather and fold over tongue, is a design that has been around since 2001, and sports an unconventional mix of two PUMA icons: the King football boot, and a heritage running shoe called the Easy Rider.
Seen via Rihanna’s fashion-forward point of view though, we get the FENTY x PUMA Avanti sneaker in both classic black-and-white and edgy chrome colourways, marked by a debossed and printed metallic FENTY and PUMA CAT logo on its folded tongue. It also features a gum outsole and leather footbed, both nods to the PUMA king football boot, worn by soccer legends Pelé and Maradona.
“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 silver chrome sneakers is surely a futuristic take on it, complemented by technology that allows for laser-etched logos and leather chrome details on the shoe’s upper.
The FENTY x PUMA campaign was shot by Dennis Leupold and features Rihanna, A$AP Nast, Pure, Felix Mallard, and two young kids, to show that unisex shoe is available in both adults’ and kids’ sizes. There’s also word of a second Avanti drop that will follow this Fall.
The FENTY x PUMA Avanti is available worldwide on puma.com and select retailers. The collection will be available at PUMA 313@somerset, Limited Edt Marina Bay Sands, and PUMA.com from 15 September, 10PM.
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