Jil Sander and PUMA renew their collaboration with the KING AVANTI, a design that helped shape modern sneaker culture. Their partnership, first launched in 1998, redefined how luxury and performance could coexist, setting a new precedent for design across both industries. Nearly three decades later, the two brands return to that original conversation with a project rooted in simplicity, precision, and purpose.
SNEAKERS
Under the creative direction of Simone Bellotti, Jil Sander revisits the collaboration’s original premise with a fresh perspective. The first chapter of this renewed dialogue introduces the KING AVANTI, a modern revival of PUMA’s iconic football silhouette. The shoe maintains its recognizable flap tongue and clean construction while refining every element through Jil Sander’s minimalist lens. Premium leather shapes the design, marked by gold foil Jil Sander branding on the side, and a tongue flap carrying the PUMA logo above and the Jil Sander mark beneath.
The KING AVANTI draws from the original collaboration’s philosophy of transformation through refinement. Bellotti continues the Jil Sander tradition of exploring the balance between strictness and lightness, an ongoing principle within the house. Repetition, a defining aspect of Bellotti’s approach, functions here as a method of progress, turning continuity into creative evolution.
This collaboration renews the conversation that began in the late 1990s, when Jil Sander first reworked PUMA’s football lace-ups into luxury sneakers. That collection’s quiet innovation set a new tone for fashion and footwear, one that valued understatement over excess.
The KING AVANTI arrives in navy blue and limited quantities, now available at selected Jil Sander stores and online. The October drop marks the first installment of an ongoing program between the two brands. The second release is set for March 2026.
