PUMA Hoops has announced a partnership with renowned designer Salehe Bembury, the mastermind behind collaborations with Versace, New Balance, and Crocs. Bembury, who took home the 2020 FNAA Designer of the Year award, is set to bring his unique design vision to PUMA‘s basketball product, including the creation of the brand’s next signature silhouette and recruitment of a top athlete.
“My designs are a platform for storytelling and cultivating community; an opportunity to breathe new meaning into a product,” Salehe Bembury explained in a statement. “While my work has been known to cater to the outdoor space, a space I recently developed an intimate relationship with, my partnership with PUMA Hoops will allow me to tell a more deeply rooted personal story.” As a self-proclaimed ’90s kid from New York City, Bembury has a deep history and nostalgia for basketball, which he’s eager to tap into through this collaboration.
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PUMA Hoops has already established itself as a major player in the basketball, with a roster that includes pro and college stars like Breanna Stewart, LaMelo Ball, and Flau’Jae Johnson. The brand’s focus on both performance and culture has set it apart from competitors, and the addition of Bembury’s creative expertise is expected to take this approach to the next level.
“Today’s game is as much about performance as it is about the culture,” said Max Staiger, global head of basketball for PUMA. “Salehe has had unrivaled success of bringing to life the intersection of sport, culture and fashion through product design and storytelling.” Staiger believes that Bembury’s unique blend of skills will result in a partnership that will bring game-changing newness and excitement to basketball athletes, consumers, and culture as a whole.
Salehe Bembury‘s ability to work with multiple brands simultaneously has raised some eyebrows, but he’s quick to credit “sturdy contracts and sound communication” for allowing him to collaborate with the likes of New Balance and Crocs while taking on this new project with PUMA. In fact, just last month, Bembury revealed a new take on New Balance’s 530 silhouette, while also dropping new colorways of the Saru mule and Juniper sneaker with Crocs.
