PUMA and J. Cole announce their partnership

In the last year and a half, PUMA has tried to increasingly expand its athletes package by focusing heavily on the US market, in particular the one linked to PUMA Hoops, the basketball department.

Going into detail, if with sneaker the intent is to rejuvenate iconic silhouettes (see the Clyde Court and the Sky LX), from the sponsorship point of view you do not look at the past at all: in fact the latest PUMA signatures are not true and already established top players, but rising stars who will be talked about in the coming years, both on and off the pitch. There is talk of players like Kyle Kuzma, Marvin Bagley III and Michael Porter Jr.

But not only that, PUMA is also very attentive to trends off the pitch, so much so that it has also signed a contract with Chris Brickley, New York influencer and coach of numerous NBA stars and, after months of negotiation, also with the multi-platinum rapper J Cole, announcing it through a teaser on his Instagram account.

The partnership between the German brand and the singer born in Germany from African American parents and raised in North Carolina, was revealed through a teaser on the will be officially unveiled during the NBA All Star Weekend, when the first short film made by the two will be screened set off. The film was produced and co-directed by PUMA and Dreamville (the production company founded by Cole himself) and focuses on the idea of never abandoning your dream despite the obstacles faced.

"Our partnership with Cole has deep roots" said Adam Petrick, PUMA's Global Director of Brand & Marketing. "Cole is involved in product creation, marketing campaigns and cultural inspiration. He will have a key role in many of the things that PUMA will do from here on and we are excited to work with him not only on a product level, but above all considering him as one of our athletes. Cole is at the center of music and sport and represents everything that PUMA represents as a brand".

Speaking of sneakers, Cole's inaugural project was released this week and is the reproduction of the classic 1985 Sky LX, now renamed Sky Dreamer, which maintains a medium cut with an ankle strap. Among the novelties of the silhouette, already seen at the rapper's feet in recent months, the word "Dreamer" appears on the heel, deriving from the name of Cole's personal brand.

The PUMA Sky Dreamer will be the first of many products in which Cole will be involved before the launch of the first and true ''Dreamer'' collection, arriving later this year, which will include sneakers and apparel.

The PUMA Sky Dreamer was released on February 13 and can be purchased on the PUMA website and in selected retailers for 140 Euros.