Juniper
Sports company PUMA and music artist, creative, and designer A$AP Rocky have officially announced a long-term creative partnership. Rooted in the motorsport business, A$AP Rocky will serve as the Creative Director for the category with a focus on the intersection of the sport and streetwear. Rocky will focus his energy and efforts on PUMA’s new partnership with F1, developing bespoke capsules designed by him that will influence the brand’s seasonal design directions moving forward.
Earlier this year, PUMA announced a long-term partnership with F1, becoming the exclusive licensee and trackside retailer at all races. With years of history and heritage in the sport, PUMA is eager to explore the impact that streetwear and fashion can play beyond the track. A$AP Rocky’s fashion knowledge, style and cultural expertise will bring a new perspective to the growing F1 audience.
Additionally, Rocky’s influence on the brand will be phased, most immediately taking on an incubator-style approach coined “in the lab” to begin creative exploration for where he can take the category. For the remainder of this year, Rocky will impact visuals and video content for the brand. His first campaign, in which he has been working behind the scenes as both creative director and producer, explores car culture in America and the impact it has on streetwear and fashion.
Later this year, Rocky will drop an extremely limited PUMA x F1 collection. This apparel and accessories collection will provide a sneak peek into a series of capsule collections in 2024 surrounding high-visibility F1 races.
In 2024, Rocky will focus his creative attention on several Grand Prix races beginning in Miami. These collections have been concepted and designed by him in partnership with the PUMA and F1 teams. He will curate activations at each of the races and serve as the creative director for all the marketing efforts surrounding these collections.
By 2025, Rocky plans to fully immerse himself into the holistic product creative designs for all PUMA x F1 products spanning from racewear to fanwear to fashion. He will continue to participate in marketing in an ongoing effort to bring disruption to the category via innovative product design and marketing concepts. Rocky, PUMA and F1 together are eager to expand their audience and tap into the connection between streetwear, fashion and the sport itself.
“Working with brands as iconic as PUMA, and as innovative as F1, has been truly inspiring,” said A$AP Rocky. “When the world sees what we are doing, I believe a shift will happen with how brand’s approach taking risks and working with diverse creatives.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working with A$AP Rocky,” said Maria Valdes, PUMA’s Chief Product Officer. “He’s incredibly talented, deeply thoughtful and invested in our brand. He will showcase his vision with elevated F1 race capsules globally which attract new audiences and undoubtedly disrupt the track. In the future, he will influence the broader PUMA x F1 range and will continue to help push sport and culture forward.”
“This announcement marks an exciting milestone in our partnership with PUMA,” said Oliver Boden, Head of Licensing and Gaming at F1. “A$AP Rocky’s creativity and commitment to innovation aligns perfectly with F1’s vision and development in apparel. We look forward to collaborating with him to design and curate the PUMA and F1 range and insert F1 into new cultural and lifestyle spaces.”
More information about his 2023 and 2024 collections and retailer availability will be shared soon.
