Fenty x PUMA Returns With Fresh Take on Classic Sneaker, the Avanti

Earlier this year, Rihanna teased the revival of Fenty x PUMA, a new development in the longstanding partnership between the artist’s own label and the German brand. Their collaboration traces back to 2014 when Rihanna was made its creative director of womenswear.

RiRi is now offering an official first look at the return of Fenty x PUMA, which will be kicking off with a fresh footwear franchise. With the singer herself serving as the official Creative Director of Fenty x PUMA, the brands have debuted a new shoe called the Fenty x Puma Avanti.

Puma rolled out the Avanti in 2001 but for this collaboration, has given the shoe a fashion-forward rebrand. Designers looked to create a shoe at the intersection of two of PUMA’s mainstays, the King football boot and the Easy Rider running sneaker. The result is a narrow vintage leather shoe with a slim sole and prominent, folded tongue printed with both “Fenty” and the PUMA cat logo in gold or silver.

Rihanna cited some of her inspirations for the Avanti as those who made PUMA’s football foot famous in the 1980s, such as Eusebio, 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,” the singer said.

“It’s been such an exciting start to our partnership,” Chief Product Officer at PUMA Maria Valdes added. “We spent time together opening up the PUMA archive and identifying the right product that spoke to Rihanna. 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.”

The Avanti campaign was shot by Dennis Leupold and features Rihanna, in addition to names such as A$AP Nast, Pure and Felix Mallard.

The FENTY x PUMA Avanti will launch worldwide on Puma’s webstore on September 15.

In other fashion news, Simone Bellotti’s debut Bally campaign heads back home.