After a few months of teasing the collaboration, Rihanna has officially partnered with Puma once again to bring the world the Fenty x Puma Avanti sneakers.
Rihanna has worked with Puma since 2014, when she was named the creative director of womenswear. Since then, she has also become the creative director of her own company, Fenty. Yesterday she took to Instagram to share a few of the campaign photos as well as a campaign trailer, telling fans “we are back… reintroducing the Avanti. #FENTYxPUMA available Sept 15 at puma.com & select retailers globally.”
The Avanti sneakers were originally released by Puma over 20 years ago, in 2001. The collaborative redesign of this shoe truly brings out the fashion-forward design while still providing the same level of comfort expected from the Puma classics. The goal of the Avanti’s were to combine two of Puma’s most popular sneakers to create a sleek and comfortable new look.
The Fenty x Puma Avanti sneakers will come in two colors, black with white accents or silver chrome. Both color ways feature the same sleek silhouette along with co-branding on the tongue of the sneakers which proudly sports the Fenty name alongside the Puma logo. When designing the shoes, Rihanna said that she looked to famous footballers like Pelé for inspiration. She said, “I wanted to bring something iconic from the archives to the street, and the late great Pelé made the Avanti shoe so iconic.”
Chief Product Officer of Puma, Maria Valdes, has told the public that “the Avanti is a Puma classic with a unique and iconic point of view on terrace. I’m very happy to see this project come to life and even more excited for what the coming years have in store for us together.” Based on Valdes’ raving reviews of working with Rihanna, it seems like Puma is pretty content with their choice of celebrity executive.
It is incredibly unlikely that this will be the last collaboration between Rihanna and Puma, but for now fans of both brands will have to wait to see what comes next. The Fenty x Puma Avanti sneakers are launching next week, on September 15th, on puma.com and in select stores worldwide.