Puma, Balmain and Cara Delevinge come together for exclusive collaboration

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 16, 2019

A cult sportswear brand, a French luxury house and a top model have joined forces on a luxe activewear collection.

This autumn, Puma, Balmain and Cara Delevingne are releasing their first creative collaboration, which takes the form of two limited-edition capsule collections designed by Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing and the English model.

This is the first time Cara Delevingne, who has been working with Puma since 2016, has designed a collection for the German brand.

An element of “brave fierceness” weaves together the three collaborators, fusing “the irrepressible spirit” of Cara Delevingne, the luxurious sensibilities of Balmain, and Puma’s performance heritage.

The brands’ luxurious and sports attributes intersect to create a collection of pieces  inspired by traditional boxing gear and infused with Parisian couture. Bra tops, boxing shorts, and sneakers are elevated with a contrasting colour palette of red, blue and black, while design elements such as hits of gold draw inspiration from Balmain’s atelier. 

“Everyone involved—Puma, Balmain, Cara and me—was determined to create something timeless. Above all, we knew that our message needed to be a strong one, reflecting exactly who we are and what we believe in,” said Olivier Rousteing about the collaboration.

“Working with one of our longest standing and iconic partners, Cara Delevingne, and marrying her vision with that of Balmain, such an iconic fashion label, was a huge achievement,” added Bjoern Gulden, CEO of Puma. 

“To be able to mix Puma’s sport heritage with Balmain’s historic couture legacy really took this collection to the next level. We look forward to continuing a partnership with both Cara and Balmain in the future.” 

Puma will produce one of the two capsule collections, comprising clothing, footwear and accessories, and sell it across its own stores, online and at select independent retailers. The second capsule of six items will be produced and distributed by Balmain, and showcased as part of the Parisian house’s Spring 2020 collection.

Both ranges are being advertised in an interactive campaign starring Cara Delevingne and shot by Brianna Capozzi with creative direction by Philippa Price.

Commenting on the collaboration, Delevingne said: “Puma has always represented team work and empowerment so the idea of doing a partnership with Olivier seemed very fitting. Balmain has a similar brave fierceness to their brand as Puma does.”

The Puma x Balmain x Cara Delevingne collection will launch on November 21st.