PUMA and A$AP Rocky are bringing back the Suede ’94 in distressed navy, with a logo tee and hoodie extending the shoe’s worn-in treatment into apparel. Rocky takes his references from ’90s skateboarding and hip-hop, revisiting a familiar Suede colorway with gold hardware, a padded tongue and gum rubber underfoot. The collection arrives November 12, accompanied by a Berlin campaign that Rocky directed himself.
SNEAKERS
The navy suede upper carries a washed finish intended to suggest years of wear. A raw-edge padded tongue adds to that treatment, while the gold PUMA lace keeper introduces a brighter detail against the dark upper. Custom branding and retro details complete the shoe. Its gum rubber sole also forms part of Rocky’s update, bringing another color and material into a design otherwise dominated by navy.
This iteration of the Suede is my favorite – an homage to an OG Suede colorway – but adding gold details on the lace keeper and a gum rubber sole to give it my signature touch
Rocky carried the washed effect through the design to make the pair feel as though the wearer had already broken it in. That idea directs the finish, giving the suede a used appearance from the outset.
The accompanying clothing picks up the same interest in pieces that look familiar and lived in. Rocky selected the PUMA No. 1 logo tee and hoodie, drawing on versions worn by celebrities during the ’90s. He revisited their fit, fabric and graphic treatment, with the washed effect connecting the clothing to the sneakers. The apparel brings the collection’s references into the full outfit, pairing the distressed footwear with recognizable PUMA sportswear.
Those references come from a period when the Suede already had a place in skateboarding. By the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s, skaters had made its shape part of their wardrobes, following the B-boy crews who had adopted it within hip-hop. Rocky’s choice of the ’94 version returns to that chapter in the shoe’s history and the overlapping music and skate scenes that informed its use.
The design’s earlier history reaches back to PUMA’s 1968 Crack. Walt Frazier developed his own version in 1973, creating the Clyde, while the Suede name later identified the shoe through its upper material. In the UK, it arrived during the 1980s as the States, a name that acknowledged its American following. Those different names trace how athletes and local scenes helped establish the silhouette long before this collaboration.
For the campaign, Rocky takes the collection to Berlin, where Spyder photographed his interpretation of ’90s skate and hip-hop culture. The release also includes plans for a ’90s NYC rave in Chelsea, which Rocky will host in tribute to the scenes behind the project.
The A$AP Rocky x PUMA Suede ’94 releases worldwide on November 12 through PUMA.com, PUMA retail stores and select retailers.
