For his second Balmain x PUMA collaboration, Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing has melded Parisian luxury heritage and American basketball excitement into a new collaboration with PUMA.
“Back in 2019, I worked closely with the PUMA team on a boxing-inspired Balmain x PUMA offering,” explains Rousteing. “Obviously, I loved creating that capsule—but for this second time around, I really wanted to set our focus on the thrills of basketball. Over here, we’re all big fans of le basket and French people are extremely dedicated to their favorite American teams. Plus, honestly, is there any group of athletes more fashionable than basketball players? So, I’ve long believed that a mix of Balmain’s modern Parisian luxury codes and b- ball emotion would make for the perfect combination—and I am very happy that PUMA has joined with me and my team to help prove that hypothesis.”
Balmain x PUMA’s newest collection centers around a special take on the historic Parisian house’s Balmain Court. For the limited-edition collaboration, the house’s basketball sneakers have been transformed with a golden Balmain tongue label, Balmain x PUMA heel webbing and one-of-a-kind Balmain basketball shoe box.
It pairs Italian leathers with the PUMA’s latest performance materials — including high-rebound ProFoam and high-abrasion rubber for multi-directional traction.
The capsule’s clothing designs give a distinctive Parisian savoir-faire twist to a host of familiar American silhouettes, including the court-ready Balmain warm-ups and uniforms, as well as Balmain x PUMA cap and tees. There’s also a special varsity jacket design riffing on the signature Balmain Teddy jackets often spotted on the house’s runways during Paris Fashion Week. But it’s clear that the sure-to-be instant classic of this collection has to be the sleek, black-and-gold, Balmain-logo’d basketball.
Professional basketball players Skylar Diggins-Smith and Kyle Kuzma will be featured in the upcoming campaign for the Balmain x PUMA collab, with Kuzma premiering his favorite designs on February 8th before the Wizards vs Hornets match-up.
The limited-edition PUMA x Balmain Court will be available globally on Balmain.com and at the PUMA NYC flagship store, beginning February 18th. It will also be available on PUMA.com, beginning on February 18th for most regions of the world, and from February 28th in the United States. The limited-edition Balmain x PUMA clothing designs will be available from February 18th on Balmain.com and at the Balmain flagships in Paris, Milan, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. It will also be carried at Harrods Men (London), Printemps Homme (Paris) and Saks (New York).
