Salehe Bembury x PUMA's New Fusion: the Velum 2

Summary

• Salehe Bembury’s PUMA Velum 2 evolves the original design, featuring a layered upper with fingerprint textures and NITROFOAM cushioning.

• Dropping September 3 in “Terracotta” and “Alloy” colorways, this lightweight sneaker balances bold style with performance.

After debuting their debut Velum 1 silhouette in Summer 2025, Salehe Bembury x PUMA have returned to the lab for an updated fusion of their distinct identities. The latest model from the Salehe Bembury x PUMA partnership turns Bembury’s fingerprint up a notch, for a pair that is as design-forward as it is performance-ready.

In an exclusive interview with Hypebeast, Bembury walked through his approach to the Velum 2: “The first version establishes a design language, and the next gives you an opportunity to refine that language, exaggerate certain ideas, resolve others, and introduce something new without losing the identity that made the original recognizable. I want someone to see the next iteration and understand where it came from, but also immediately understand why it needed to exist.”

In short, the Velum 2 is an evolution rather than a complete reinvention. “With Velum 2, the opportunity was to evolve the upper while maintaining the tooling and visual DNA established by the original. I was interested in seeing how much the personality and perception of the shoe could change without altering its foundation,” Bembury explained. Indeed, the latest design feels even more dynamic than its predecessor, trading the Velum 1’s sleek taping and webbing for a more aggressive look: uppers are reimagined with a layered construction, featuring amorphous overlays and translucent mesh.

Notably, the tongue is rendered in an embossed fingerprint texture, which is also seen on the sculptural midsoles carried over from Velum 1. For branding, PUMA’s wordmark, on the head of the tongue and the lateral heel, gets reworked in Bembury’s fingerprint texture, while the designer’s wordmark appears discreetly printed onto the outsole. In addition to Bembury’s signature details, the shoe is supported by PUMA’s NITROFOAM cushioning — a nitrogen-infused thermoplastic foam, imbuing the shoe with a lightweight, comfortable feel.

“Color is one of the quickest ways to communicate the personality of a product,” Bembury added.  For the inaugural drop, colorways include a monochromatic orange “Terracotta” and a silver “Alloy” colorway with yellow soles. “Alloy allows you to really see the form, material transitions and construction of the shoe, while Terracotta introduces something warmer and more organic,” he continued. Seen in an early preview, a blue and a neon yellow colorway are also expected to drop at a later date. Each pair comes in a limited-edition co-branded box covered in a blue-and-orange fingerprint pattern.

The Salehe Bembury x PUMA Velum 2 is set to drop on September 3 at select PUMA stores and the brand’s official web store.