Rihanna x PUMA take it neutral and earthy with their new Creeper Phatty models
The 9-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Rihanna has long been associated with the Puma brand, known for their specialization in footwear and sportswear. RiRi's first tenure with Puma lasted from 2014 to 2018, where she brought her Fenty brand identity and integrated it into Puma's philosophy of sneakers. Rihanna even landed herself the position of creative director for Puma's womenswear business. Fast forward to 2024, and the two parties are coming together to elevate their collaboration to new heights of success.
Puma and Rihanna are bringing back the Creeper silhouette, a model that takes inspiration from PUMA’s iconic Suede sneaker albeit in a platformed version. First dropping on the scene in September 2015, the Creeper garnered attention from the sneaker world, as it was recognized as Shoe of the Year by Footwear News in 2016. Now in Spring 2024, Fenty x Puma is once again putting a reimagined twist to their sneakers with the Creeper Phatty, described as "bigger, bolder and badder than ever with an oversized design and stacked gum sole."
Rihanna is returning to the Puma brand with the ultimate forest vibe in mind.
In this brand new line of Creepers, fans of RiRi and sneaker connoisseurs alike can purchase three fresh colorways - "Totally Taupe", "Green Fog" and "Warm White".
Rihanna and Puma are clearly taking the 'earthy' word association to another level. So much so that RiRi has been photographed in advertising stills rocking her best ghillie suit à la Fallout style. According to the official Puma Newsroom site, it seems Rihanna played a big role as Creative Director in deciding the direction of their marketing campaign.
The site reads: "Rihanna’s FENTY x PUMA campaign shot by Philippa Price expands upon this concept of creeping – attempting to do something without being noticed. The campaign embarks on a dynamic exploration of the art of camouflage through carefully composed tone-on-tone imagery."
In preparation for what Puma describes to be their "biggest brand campaign launch ever", the two parties have organized a European-based promotional event to celebrate the release of FENTY x PUMA Creeper Phatty Earth Tone.
The colorways will be released as follows: "The exclusive taupe colorway of the FENTY X PUMA Creeper will drop immediately following on April 17 at 12AM EST exclusively at PUMA.com."
Next in line are the "Green Fog" and "Warm White" editions, which will launch on April 25 at 10AM EST worldwide on Puma's official website, their licensed retailers, and global retailers including Foot Locker, JD Sports, and Zalando. The official press site details the price tags of the FENTY x PUMA sneakers as being "Adults styles retail for €140, juniors at €100, pre-school at €75 and infant at €65."
Converting these numbers to USD, we can assume the adult styles to be around $150, junior styles to be roughly $105, pre-school at around $80, and infant models to be $70.