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Fenty x Puma just dropped a new colorway of their unconventional but ever-iconic Avanti athletic sneakers.
The Avanti sneaker now comes in “Dark Myrtle” and “Club Navy” colorways. Both colorways feature oil-treated leather, a tonal leather formstrip with leather piping, high-shine gold aglets and an embossed Fenty number 1 logo on the tongues.
Blending the high-quality leather design of the King football boot with the outsole of the heritage running shoe, Easy Rider, the new Avanti colorways are available now across men’s, women’s, and children’s sizing.
On Sept. 16, the athletic collaborators held a limited-edition installation in New York’s famed Meatpacking District to celebrate the launch of the Avanti sneakers. Said sneakers can be seen on the cover of FN’s September issue, worn by Fenty’s iconic founder Rihanna. The occasion will see two oversized branded soccer balls stacked on top of each other in homage to its soccer roots from the ’70s to today.
The installation, held in the High Line entrance since Sept. 12, will be open until the date of the event.
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To show Rihanna and Puma’s respective global presence, the aforementioned balls will also be shown in a digital format visiting locations including London, Paris and Shanghai — as well as Rihanna’s childhood home in Barbados.
“Football is a universal language that brings people together from all over the world, all walks of life, and I wanted to pay homage to that,” Rihanna exclusively told FN’s Nikara Johns in her new September cover story.
Fenty x Puma’s Avanti sneakers feature textured leather uppers with exaggerated tongue panels, available in matte black and mirrored silver colorways. The runner-style shoe was first launched in 2001 by merging two of Puma’s signature shoes: its 1978 Easy Rider and 1998 Jil Sander King.
“By going into our classics business and into our archives, it gave Rihanna a [blank] canvas where she can bring that creativity,” Puma chief product officer Maria Valdes told Johns in the cover story. “We already had a very big foundation. In this new chapter, we just wanted to build on top of that.”
About the Author:
Aaron Royce is the Digital Editor for Footwear News, where he writes stories on fashion news, collaborations and in-depth profile interviews. Prior to joining Footwear News, Royce wrote and interned for publications including PAPER, Grazia and the Daily Front Row. He currently holds a B.S. in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.
