A$AP Rocky Named Creative Director for Puma x Formula 1 Partnership
Written by djfrosty on October 25, 2023
Puma recently announced a long-term partnership with A$AP Rocky, who will serve as creative director for the motorsport business category “with a focus on the intersection of the sport and streetwear,” according to a press release.
Puma announced its long-term partnership with F1 earlier this year, which makes the sportswear brand the exclusive licensee and trackside retailer at all races. As creative director of the partnership, Rocky will take on an incubator-style approach to begin creative exploration. For the rest of the year, he will impact the brand’s visuals and video content. His first campaign explores American car culture and its impact on streetwear and fashion. Later this year, he’ll drop an exclusive Puma x F1 apparel and accessories collection, serving as a sneak peek into a series of capsule collections next year in regards to high-visibility F1 races.
In 2024, Rocky will shift creative focus to several Grand Prix races beginning in Miami. He will curate activations at each race and serve as the creative director for all of the marketing efforts surrounding these collections, which he designed in partnership with the Puma and F1 teams.
By 2025, he’ll fully immerse himself into the holistic product creative designs for all of the Puma x F1 product, spanning from racewear to fanwear to fashion. He’ll continue participating in marketing in an ongoing effort to bring disruption to the category via innovative product design and marketing concepts.
“Working with brands as iconic as Puma, and as innovative as F1, has been truly inspiring,” Rocky said in a press statement. “When the world sees what we’re doing, I believe a shift will happen with how brands approach taking risks and working with diverse creatives.”
But the rapper is not the only one with business ties to Puma in his household. His partner Rihanna, with whom he shares two children, recently got back in her Puma bag as the shoe brand’s Fenty label creative director and unveiled her new “Avanti” sneaker design last month.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working with A$AP Rocky,” said Maria Valdes, Puma’s chief product officer. “He’s incredibly talented, deeply thoughtful and invested in our brand. He will showcase his vision with elevated F1 race capsules globally, which attract new audiences and undoubtably disrupt the track. In the future, he will influence the broader Puma x F1 range and will continue to help push sport and culture forward.”
Adds Oliver Boden, head of licensing and gaming at F1: “This announcement marks an exciting milestone in our partnership with PUMA. A$AP Rocky’s creativity and commitment to innovation aligns perfectly with F1’s vision and development in apparel. We look forward to collaborating with him to design and curate the PUMA and F1 range and insert F1 into new cultural and lifestyle spaces.”