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Channel: puma blaze of glory – Highsnobiety

PUMA Gets Patriotic on the Blaze of Glory “RWB”

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While it would have made sense for PUMA to release the “RWB” Blaze of Glory in time for the 4th of July, the patriotic pair is still a solid play for the upcoming Rio Olympics.

The thematic kicks boast a distinct look on each shoe, as the left notes a blue upper with white star detail, and the right features a red upper with white stripes playing accent, of course coming together to mimic the American flag. A white midsole then plays complement, while tonal laces accompany.

You can try to get your hands on a pair of the Blaze of Glory “RWB” today through select PUMA providers.

Later this week PUMA will be releasing the summer-perfect pastel R698.


PUMA & Filling Pieces Join Forces on New Blaze of Glory Silhouette

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Collaborations have been all the rage for quite some time now. So much so, in fact, that the number of collaborators attached to a single project seems to be increasing by the season; look no further than Gosha Rubchinskiy, N.Hoolywood and Vetements, who’ve included five, six even 18 brand partnerships in their recent collections.

But footwear collaborations don’t seem to produce all that often, so it’s usually pretty interesting when they do. Remember when Jordan and Converse teamed up back in 2012? Or in 2014, when Nike SB and Jordan dropped their very first Air Jordan 1 together?

Adding to the roster of sneaker pair-ups is German sportswear giant PUMA and independent Dutch footwear label Filling Pieces, who’ve joined forces for a unique take on PUMA’s ever popular Blaze of Glory silhouette.

Ahead of the shoe’s release, I sat down with Filling Pieces’ Creative Director/Founder, Guillaume Philibert, and PUMA’s Global Senior Head of Lifestyle, Yassine Saidi, to find out more about how the collaboration came about, how the two brands merged their respective aesthetics into the new silhouette and more.

So, tell me how this collaboration first came about?

Guillaume Philibert: PUMA has always been a very big part of my childhood. I always loved PUMA products, because back in the day, there was always a link to sports – all these athletes, it was quite diverse when it came to athletics. The experience I had buying and wearing PUMA footwear actually helped me design my own products at Filling Pieces.

Through a mutual friend, Ronnie Fieg, I got in touch with Yassine [Saidi, Global Senior Head of Lifestyle at PUMA], and we got along very well. Then all of a sudden there was a conversation about how we, as two footwear brands, could work together on a project. We sat down and looked at the strengths of the companies; Filling Pieces is a very small, independent, up-and-coming footwear label, and of course PUMA is one of the world’s biggest athletic companies. It was interesting because if you approach [this project] like you would from a smaller label, you have all this craftsmanship, all these materials from Italy and a more luxury approach to footwear, whereas we can’t make athletic footwear because we don’t have resources or factories, unlike PUMA.

I think for PUMA, it was interesting to work with a brand like Filling Pieces because you have this craftsmanship and taste for luxury leathers and luxury footwear. Where the market is going now, high-end is coming closer to streetwear, and of course there’s a difference in price and brand awareness, but it’s getting very close. If you look at Givenchy, Kenzo and Balmain, you see that the ready-to-wear stuff is very much inspired by streetwear and vice versa. So those two markets are coming very close together and for us at Filling Pieces, we try to bridge that gap with our product and that was a very interesting space for us to work in.

How did you choose the silhouette?

G: We actually got together and worked on the Blaze of Glory, which is quite a well known PUMA silhouette. The name of the concept was “Deconstruct to Rebuild,” so we actually looked at the shoe and completely took it apart. We mixed and matched different fabrics that we’ve used in the past and are very known to the Filling Pieces clientele and applied them to the collaborated shoe.

How hands on are you with the whole design process?

G: I started the company in 2009, and I used to do everything – from marketing and finance to design and logistics. When the company got bigger, I had certain people taking care of those kind of projects and sides of the company. Now I’m just fully focused on creative direction. So I’m the Creative Director of Filling Pieces and involved in marketing as well, but in terms of design, me and my design team work very closely together.

How did you compromise in regards to preserving both Filling Pieces’ and PUMA’s aesthetic?

G: If you look at the shoe, the colorway is quite simple. It’s black and white, but there’s a lot of detailing on it. If you look at the Blaze of Glory, it’s a little bit bulky in the front, which is just the design. But we at Filling Pieces always have more slick toe boxes, so we took some layers off and changed some lines in the front to add a more luxury feel to the shoe. For example, the toe box is completely laser-woven leather, then there’s the elastic strap which gives off this athletic look. If you look at the lateral side of the shoe, you see the foam and the padding, and that’s what we always have in the shoe in the heel part.

With using all of these different fabrics, we felt that we could push for a more luxurious approach to the Blaze of Glory. And of course, there’s the tongue, which is a trademark feature for all Filling Pieces shoes – that was actually both the biggest change and challenge.

How has this collaboration been different from previous PUMA partnerships?

Yassine Saidi: Every collaboration is different because every relationship is different and everybody works in a different way. What makes this one different is we created a completely new product bearing the PUMA and Filling Pieces DNA’s, that’s the main difference.

What are both the strengths and difficulties of working with such an independent brand?

Y: There have been no difficulties really as it has been a really organic process. Though they [Filling Pieces] are independent, they know a lot about footwear, they know what they can do and what they can’t do. I just made sure both brands were represented well.

Filling Pieces has had a pretty big year, and the brand just seems to be getting bigger. So looking back on where the brand started to where it is now, is it all a bit surreal?

G: It’s super surreal. Unfortunately, because we’re in this super fast lane, I appreciate and respect everybody that has helped out and I love where we are right now as a brand, but you don’t realize how fast everything went, and how happy you should be. But sometimes, when I’m on vacation or when I take some time off, I suddenly realize how happy and how grateful you need to be for your success. It doesn’t happen a lot. The whole concept of independency stands for the moment, and the era, that we as Filling Pieces are in right now. When we start designing the collection we feel really independent, we’re at a certain size now where we can do our own sourcing, our own fine-tuning, we’re not depending on leather or any other fabric suppliers anymore and we can do what we want, and we feel a sort of creativity and freedom there and that’s why the FW16 collection stands for independency.

Like I said before, the biggest difference between PUMA and Filling Pieces is that PUMA is such a big company, and Filling Pieces because we’re smaller, we’re more flexible in terms of size and strategy. Working with PUMA, we felt there were more restrictions on doing the production ourselves because PUMA is such a big company and they need to work with licensed suppliers and certain factories, so there were boundaries which let us be, in some ways, more creative. When you have all the freedom, it’s easier to design a product than when you have restrictions, and these restrictions really helped us design the shoe and put it together.

Y: I think what’s important is the timing, because when we talked about working together, that was almost two years ago. We met in London, and Filling Pieces’ brand was not at the level where it is today. The timing and the alignment, with respect to each other’s brand DNA, we just thought that we could make it – and it really wasn’t a huge risk for us. Filling Pieces is more than an up-and-coming brand, it’s established now. The timing was right for this project, because it happens to bring a different feel to our aesthetic; it talks to a different consumer, talks to different press, brings the brand, through Filling Pieces, to a different level. That’s the whole objective of the exercise, and we’re excited and we hope to work on something else soon.

The PUMA x Filling Pieces Blaze of Glory is currently available on Filling Pieces online shop and will be released at select retailers including Dover Street Market London, colette, KITH, Isetan, Luisa Via Roma, Très Bien, SSENSE and Sneakerboy from July 30.

PUMA & Staple Use the Iconic “Pigeon” Theme for New Sneaker Collaboration

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PUMA and New York-based imprint Staple are returning with a new collaboration. The project finds the two woking on the iconic PUMA Suede and the Blaze of Glory.

The Staple x PUMA Suede boasts Staple’s iconic “Pigeon” color scheme of grey, black and white, offered up in three iterations. On each pair, the heel has been “dipped” in the “Pigeon Pink” shade, while co-branding in turn takes over the tongue.

The Blaze of Glory then features a combination of all “Pigeon” color schemes, while being done up in suede and mesh. Inspired by the concrete jungle that is New York City, the shoe also welcomes PUMA’s Trinomic cushioning midsole, as well as a speckled contrast throughout the upper.

All in all, the collaboration finds four footwear options being presented, as the Suede entries are all regionally specific. The “Star White” represents the Americas, the “Frost Grey” is for Europe and the Middle East, and the “Pure Black” is for Asia. Each style of the Staple x PUMA Suede will release at select retailers in different regions exclusively. The Blaze of Glory will be available worldwide.

Staple’s Reed Space is the lone store releasing all styles in their Lower East Side location and online on September 13. A global release through PUMA stores and select stockists will then take place on September 17.

PUMA Banishes the Winter Blues With Cozy B.O.G. Sock Aran Pack

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If you can’t bear to part with your toasty slippers during these chilly winter months, then perhaps the Blaze of Glory Sock Aran Pack is for you.

The latest offering from PUMA is a cozy take on the popular ’90s runner and comes with a cable-knit upper, shaped Trinomic tooling for stabilizing, and a neoprene half sock. The sneakers are available in black and green colorways.

Shop the sneakers over at the PUMA website now, or find them in select PUMA retailers and stores worldwide.

Staying with PUMA, Rihanna has just unveiled a lush velvet iteration of her extraordinarily popular FENTY creepers.

Highsnobiety Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary With KITH and PUMA Collaboration

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In addition to a new print issue featuring no less than eight covers with the likes of A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, NIGO, Futura and more, we here at Highsnobiety have also joined forces with Ronnie Fieg and his KITH outfit for a special 10-year anniversary sneaker pack. A decade ago, it was a very influential time for both Highsnobiety and designer-slash-retail-magnate Ronnie Fieg, so it seems only right that we link up in celebration of that fact. The resulting sneakers, produced in conjunction with PUMA, are a toast to everything we’ve achieved over the years, dubbed “A Tale of Two Cities.”

The silhouettes of choice are PUMA’s R698 and Blaze of Glory. The former is a nod to Highsnob’s roots in Berlin, picked out in a black, quilted nubuck upper with red accents and the colours of the German flag on the inside panel, while the latter references KITH’s New York home in a classic red, white and deep indigo leather combo. Both sit atop an unmistakable PUMA TRINOMIC speckled midsole.

The KITH x Highsnobiety x PUMA “A Tale of Two Cities” pack is scheduled for release this Friday, September 25 at KITH, SOTO Berlin, and the Highsnobiety webstore.

The KITH x Highsnobiety x PUMA “A Tale of Two Cities” Pack Has Arrived

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Today, the KITH x Highsnobiety x PUMA “A Tale of Two Cities” pack releases at 11 a.m. EST. In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, KITH founder and footwear maven Ronnie Fieg offered up his design expertise across PUMA’s Blaze of Glory and R698 silhouettes in a two-part release inspired by the locations of our respective HQs: Highsnobiety’s in Berlin and KITH’s in New York.

Representing New York, the RF-Blaze of Glory is done up in a USA-proper red, white, and blue with a premium quilted leather upper and co-branded forefoot strap and speckled Trinomic midsole. As a further nod to the States, asymmetrical stars and stripes are featured on the tongue, while an American flag-themed footbed lines the shoe in quilted leather.

The RF698 channels Germany, in premium quilted nubuck with red accents. For RF’s version of the silhouette, Fieg removed the 698’s traditional tongue, adding a mesh-neoprene sock for added support and comfort, while also taking PUMA’s classic formstripe and wrapping it around the entire shoe. Meanwhile, relevant co-branding and 3M German flag colored accents round out the design.

To complete the release, each shoe comes in a custom flag-inspired box that also doubles as a magazine holder, allowing you to display our new 10th anniversary issue and more. The special scratch-off KITH edition of our magazine will be given out to customers purchasing the sneakers in-store, with further copies made available online.

Lastly, KITH Treats will be debuting special-edition cereal boxes that mimic each shoe’s colorway with KITH x Highsnobiety branding. Treats customers can redeem four proof of purchase tickets for a KITH Treats-exclusive “A Tale of Two Cities” tee that features the same logo as our magazine cover.

The KITH x Highsnobiety x PUMA “A Tale of Two Cities” pack is out today at 11 a.m. EST through KITH, SOTO Berlin, and the Highsnobiety webstore.

To learn more about the collaboration visit our special “A Tale of Two Cities” parallax page here.

Please note that each style is limited to one size per customer.

Stampd & PUMA Unveil All-White Blaze of Glory

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Two months later, Stampd and PUMA deliver on their promise to share an all-white version of the Blaze of Glory silhouette, the second installation in a two-part capsule. This tonal mock-up follows in the aesthetic of Stampd and PUMA’s previous all-black rendition, with a toggle lacing system, a Trinomic sole unit, a TPU heel cage, a combination leather and neoprene upper, and dual tongue branding.

The second colorway of the Blaze of Glory model will be released online at STAMPD.com on March 30.

In related news, be sure to check out these strapped variants of the shoe.





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