The newest version of Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma Avanti sneaker, which the artist and entrepreneur teased multiple times over the last several months, released at long last on Oct. 17. The new colorway called Club Red can now be purchased from Puma.com, the Puma app, Puma stores and retailers globally.

The creative campaign features Romeo Beckham, the 22-year-old son of David and Victoria Beckham, wearing the shoe with jeans and a tank top.

Rihanna herself recently modeled the shoes with a slouchy gray suit. As ever, the Fenty CEO looked effortlessly stylish — her ensemble incorporated athletic elements into a business formal silhouette for an easygoing but chic aesthetic. She wore a high-waisted wide-leg trousers and a blazer in a stone gray hue with a green and white striped soccer jersey. She previously modeled the sneaker over the summer, when she wore the new colorway to a soccer game between Manchester United and AC Milan.

In addition to a red backdrop and white Formstrip, the Club Red Avanti features gold Fenty x Puma branding, adding a subtle flash to the design. The upper features oil-treated leather and a lace closure in addition to the identifiable fold-over tongue. The shoe is marked at a price of $150 and will be offered for all ages.

The Fenty x Puma Avanti was showcased in an FN cover story in September 2023, when Footwear News was allowed an exclusive first look at the campaign. Rihanna told FN, “Football is a universal language that brings people together from all over the world, all walks of life, and I wanted to pay homage to that.”

The Puma Avanti dates back to 2001; the style took inspiration from the 1998 Jil Sander King sneaker, which combines elements of the 1978 running sneaker Easy Rider and the 1968 king football boot. Since their first collaboration on the Avanti model in 2023, Puma and Rihanna have dropped several colorways including black and white, chrome, Dark Myrtle, Club Navy, and pony-inspired options made of calf hair.

Rihanna’s Best Shoe Moments in 2024 So Far

View Gallery 18 Images

Rihanna‘s Fenty is giving the Puma Avanti sneakers a furry treatment.

Released on Thursday, the Fenty x Puma Avanti Pony shoe comes covered in lux calf hair and finished with embroidered Fenty branding and retro gum soles. The silhouette is available in two colorways: all-white and dappled white and brown — the latter features a unique pattern on every style, making them one-of-one shoes.

Made of premium materials, the Avanti Pony is the latest drop of the Fenty and Puma collaboration and is labeled as an “extremely” limited edition, according to the footwear brand. Only 2,000 pairs of the Avanti Pony sneakers were made available in both men’s and women’s sizes. The shoes were released at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday at puma.com and select retailers globally. Both styles retail at $200 each.

Rihanna first teamed up with Puma in 2014 as creative director for the womenswear line, and the line paved the way for a collaboration under her own name Fenty x Puma. Rihanna’s partnership ended in 2018. In 2023, the singer reignited her partnership with Puma and released her first take on the classic Puma Avanti inspired by the soccer world.

“Football is a universal language that brings people together from all over the world, all walks of life, and I wanted to pay homage to that,” Rihanna told FN exclusively.

In November 2023, Rihanna a “bigger, bolder and phatter” version of the Puma Creepers. “We took our OG Creeper and made it bigger and badder,” Rihanna said in a statement.

Rihanna and Puma launched their first Creeper collaboration in 2015. The style won Shoe of the Year at the FN Achievement Awards in 2016.

Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma Avanti Pony [PHOTOS]

View Gallery 27 Images

Fenty x Puma just dropped a new colorway of their unconventional but ever-iconic Avanti athletic sneakers.

The Avanti sneaker now comes in “Dark Myrtle” and “Club Navy” colorways. Both colorways feature oil-treated leather, a tonal leather formstrip with leather piping, high-shine gold aglets and an embossed Fenty number 1 logo on the tongues.

Blending the high-quality leather design of the King football boot with the outsole of the heritage running shoe, Easy Rider, the new Avanti colorways are available now across men’s, women’s, and children’s sizing.

On Sept. 16, the athletic collaborators held a limited-edition installation in New York’s famed Meatpacking District to celebrate the launch of the Avanti sneakers. Said sneakers can be seen on the cover of FN’s September issue, worn by Fenty’s iconic founder Rihanna. The occasion will see two oversized branded soccer balls stacked on top of each other in homage to its soccer roots from the ’70s to today.

The installation, held in the High Line entrance since Sept. 12, will be open until the date of the event.

To show Rihanna and Puma’s respective global presence, the aforementioned balls will also be shown in a digital format visiting locations including London, Paris and Shanghai — as well as Rihanna’s childhood home in Barbados.

“Football is a universal language that brings people together from all over the world, all walks of life, and I wanted to pay homage to that,” Rihanna exclusively told FN’s Nikara Johns in her new September cover story.

Fenty x Puma’s Avanti sneakers feature textured leather uppers with exaggerated tongue panels, available in matte black and mirrored silver colorways. The runner-style shoe was first launched in 2001 by merging two of Puma’s signature shoes: its 1978 Easy Rider and 1998 Jil Sander King.

“By going into our classics business and into our archives, it gave Rihanna a [blank] canvas where she can bring that creativity,” Puma chief product officer Maria Valdes told Johns in the cover story. “We already had a very big foundation. In this new chapter, we just wanted to build on top of that.”

About the Author:

Aaron Royce is the Digital Editor for Footwear News, where he writes stories on fashion news, collaborations and in-depth profile interviews. Prior to joining Footwear News, Royce wrote and interned for publications including PAPER, Grazia and the Daily Front Row. He currently holds a B.S. in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Looking Back On the Time Rihanna Won Shoe of the Year For the Fenty Puma Creeper

View Gallery 21 Images

This is the new Rihanna era. The superstar, who covers FN’s September issue, is now ready to make a big return to footwear — and to Puma. After striking gold once with the Creeper, the pair is looking to do it again, this time with a fresh take on the classic Puma Avanti. FN got an exclusive first look at the campaign, and talked to Rihanna about her vision for her new soccer-inspired collection.

“Football is a universal language that brings people together from all over the world, all walks of life, and I wanted to pay homage to that,” Rihanna told FN exclusively.

The launch is generating major excitement within the company, who first teamed up with the artist at the end of 2014.

“She moves culture, sets trends and she certainly can move our business. Fenty is stronger now than it was when she was with us before,” said Bob Philion, president and CEO of Puma North America.

The surprise partnership was first revealed in the middle of Paris Fashion Week in March, not long after her headline-making Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. Puma revealed the news with a simple statement: “She’s back.”

Since then, anticipation has been building around the debut, set for this week.

The star’s innate ability to constantly reinvent herself and stay firmly in the spotlight — whether she’s partaking in a pregnancy shoot on the streets of Harlem in a hot-pink vintage Chanel puffer coat or making her TikTok debut with a video of her son RZA (it has 36 million views) — has made Rihanna an everyday icon at a time when many celebrities of her caliber seem unattainable.

The mom of two has been busy building her family with partner and rapper A$AP Rocky. And she hasn’t released another album — instead shifting much of her attention to the Fenty empire, which now includes her wildly successful cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and the growing Savage x Fenty lingerie line. (Her luxury fashion house, Fenty, launched in partnership with LVMH in 2019, but the line was suspended indefinitely in 2021.)

Rihanna has always been unabashedly herself when it comes to fashion, too, and over the past few years, she’s revolutionized pregnancy style, rebelling again societal standards and embracing every aspect of motherhood. (This summer, before giving birth to her second child, she starred in Pharrell Williams’ first campaign for Louis Vuitton, baring her baby bump on a giant billboard in Paris.)

Brands yearn for this type of authenticity — and Rihanna oozes it. It’s a big part of why Puma is betting big on the star again — and the Fenty team clearly understands the value of a proven partner.

“All our brands feed off each other and tell one cohesive story. We are always looking to elevate Fenty, and Puma has always been a disruptive player in this space,” said Jennifer Rosales, Fenty Corp. SVP and Rihanna’s right-hand woman. “Both brands have shared values and have had great success in pushing the envelope. Now that Fenty is such an established entity, we want to bring Puma into our world.”

At a time when retro looks are dominating the sneaker world, Puma is looking to leverage Rihanna’s singular fashion perspective on heritage product from its 75-year vault, and the Avanti was the natural choice. The style is a take on the iconic King football boot, which originally launched in 1968, equipped with the outsole of the heritage Easy Rider running shoe.

“By going into our classics business and into our archives, it gave Rihanna a [blank] canvas where she can bring that creativity,” said Puma chief product officer Maria Valdes. “We already had a very big foundation. In this new chapter, we just wanted to build on top of that.”

Nearly a decade ago, Rihanna changed the course of what a celebrity partnership could look like, disrupting the sneaker business during a lucrative period for celebrity and athletic brand partnerships.

The Fenty x Puma Creeper quickly became the most sought-after sneaker in 2016, crashing the brand’s website and selling out with every drop. It was the same year Rihanna took home FN’s Shoe of the Year.

“She almost rejuvenated the whole classic platform sneaker trend with the Creeper,” Puma global creative director Heiko Desens said. And that led to the brand offering a whole collection of sneakers and sandals under the Mayze name. “This is probably one of our most successful franchises,” he said.

Before the Gucci x Adidas or Louis Vuitton x Nike team ups, it was Rihanna who was a force in sportswear’s convergence with luxury.

Her Fenty x Puma collections showed at New York and Paris Fashion Weeks — with trainers, heeled-sneaker boots, hoodies, tracksuits, sweatpants and tees — and she had fans lined up to buy them.

“Rihanna is one of a very small group of musicians and celebs who can move folks to cop their footwear,” said Mel Peralta, VP of brand concepts at Atmos Global, which is stocking the new launch. “She’s been unflinchingly herself from the very beginning of her career, and her fans love her for it. It started with her music, but she’s also a style icon who has that rare power to motivate folks to support her and all her business endeavors.”

Alongside Rihanna’s own dramatic evolution, her fashion goals have also expanded — and Fenty is now a family affair.

“We had to extend the line to kids so the whole family can be a part of this,” the superstar said, in one of her first interviews since giving birth. Her unisex sneaker, launching next week, will be offered in all size ranges and for kids for the first time.

“She has a full family and she’s offering for the full family,” said Valdes. The exec recounted Rihanna’s genuine excitement when she saw the mini styles come to life. “We worked on this in record time. And then to think that during this whole process she was pregnant, it was quite [respectable] that she dedicated so much time to us, and there was so much passion to bring this to life.”

The product also has another very genuine connection to Rihanna — she’s a longtime soccer fan. (When celebrating Germany’s win at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, she relished the moment: “I touched the cup, held the cup, kissed the cup, took a selfie [with] the cup! I [mean] … what is [your] bucket list looking like bruh?” she tweeted at the time.)

When it came to designing her collection for Puma, Rihanna was specifically inspired by legendary Brazilian soccer player Pelé.

“Being a Latina, soccer connects to my culture and I believe that’s the same for [Rihanna], being from Barbados,” said Rosales. “Soccer brings families and countries together on a global level, and that’s what we are doing with this collection.”

During the design process, Valdes said the star gravitated to the King boot, which Pelé wore to win the 1970 World Cup title. “The sport itself is very attractive — it’s been always very attractive in Europe. But I think now through the latest world championships, and also the women’s [World Cup], it definitely is getting much more momentum. And we see that it is a sport that for new generations is getting much more attractive,” said Valdes.

Depop, the Gen Z-loved social e-commerce company, for example, has seen exponential growth in the category. Sneakers rooted in soccer, such as the Adidas Samba, saw a 1,325 percent search increase year-over-year, and searches for “Brazil Jersey” saw a 600 percent surge between January and June. With Rihanna at the helm and Puma’s own history in the category, the brand has the opportunity to be a leader in the space.

Fashion experts, however, know trends move quickly. But if anyone can keep the heat around soccer going, it’s Rihanna, said Extra Butter creative director Bernie Gross.

“Rihanna is such a force with her discerning looks. If executed well, her cult following may still hunger for her pointed product perspectives. … More importantly, her artistic choices seem to be undeniably authentic in every way. She’s adored for just being ‘Rihanna.’”

Puma is confident that the pair can bring a new perspective and point of view to terrace culture, which revolves around retro low-top sneakers from the 1970s and ’80s, named after the standing section at soccer stadiums.

Despite Rihanna’s undeniable star power, the Avanti could potentially face some competition from the Samba, Gross said.

“The Avanti has some great history for Puma. The inherent quilted stitched upper lends itself to telling luxury product stories,” he said. “The challenge it will face is that we’re already seeing the Samba, a similar terrace-inspired model, running through its cycle as an on-trend shoe. It’s still gaining momentum among a mainstream audience, but I’m not sure tastemakers have room for such a similar shoe. They’ve already moved on looking for another look.”

The Fenty x Puma Avanti is designed with a buttery soft vintage leather with a quilted stitched upper, fold-over tongue with a debossed and printed gold-foil Fenty and Puma Cat logo, a gum outsole and leather footbed. It’s launching with two colorways: black/white and chrome.

It launches Sept. 15, on Puma.com and in select retailers globally, such as Bodega, Extra Butter, Social Status, Kith, Atmos, SNS, Feature, Dover Street Market and END. The sneakers will retail for $80 in infant, $95 in kids’ and $160 in adult sizes.

The Puma team predicted the footwear franchise will be a hit with the masses, while still encapsulating Rihanna’s fondness for individuality and edge.

“She’s very dedicated when it comes to the finishing details, that color combination. She’s always thinking how you’re going to wear it, how you’re going to style it,” said Valdes, who worked closely with Rihanna on the product. “She’s quite versatile, she can pull off anything and she’s trying to always think from [that perspective]. That brings a bit of commerciality to the table, but then some excitement by finding the right balance of both.”

On Wednesday this week, Puma CEO Arne Freundt announced that Rihanna would be returning to the brand in a two-word press release: “She’s back.” The singer first teamed up with Puma in 2014 as creative director for the womenswear line, and the marriage paved the way for a collaboration under her own name Fenty x Puma. Rihanna’s partnership ended in 2018.

During her reign, there were many product launches, including apparel and footwear, but none was bigger than the Creeper. Offered in multiple colorways, the shoe became a blockbuster hit and had universal appeal to both men and women. It generated tremendous hype, strong global sales and was seen on celebs, such as Cara Delevingne, The Weeknd and Gigi Hadid. The initial release sold-out and crashed Puma’s website.

“In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined an honor like Shoe of the Year,” Rihanna told FN at the time. “It means so much to me to make a mark like this in the shoe and sneaker industry and to have so many people share my love for the Creeper.”

When the star arrived to the awards show in 2016, she hit the red carpet wearing a Vetements x Juicy Couture ensemble straight from the spring ’17 runway. She paired the look with a black-and-white pair of Fenty Puma Creepers.

Inside the event, Rihanna was seen mixing and mingling with actress Dascha Polanco as well as actor Cuba Gooding Jr., who were also in attendance.

During her speech at the awards ceremony in New York, Rihanna said that the honor made her “proud to be a woman and proud to be a young woman from Barbados, especially to come to America and just do this by default just because I liked to wear a certain style of shoe.”

Rihanna credited friend and collaborator Jahleel Weaver, who introduced her at the time to Billy Walsh, Mr. Completely and Puma. “I would literally send them my sneakers one by one and say, ‘Can you creep this out for me?'” she said on the inspiration behind the style.

“I wanted this shoe to be part of the Fenty brand. I wanted it to be the first thing people saw because that’s what I was into at the time,” said Rihanna. “I didn’t expect people to love it the way that I do.”

Watch the full acceptance speech here:

To see more of Rihanna at the 2016 FN Achievement Awards, click through the gallery.

Rihanna and Fenty are returning to Puma, the athletic brand’s CEO Arne Freundt revealed today in a two-word press release.

It’s a pivotal moment for both the superstar — who is set to release a new album and give birth to her second child this year — and Puma, which just announced record results for 2022.

The superstar and athletic company certainly know how to produce great shoe hits.

Rihanna’s Fenty Puma Creeper took home FN’s Shoe of the Year award in 2016. The sneaker had universal appeal to both men and women, generating tremendous hype and strong global sales.

“In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined an honor like Shoe of the Year,” the star told Footwear News in 2016. “It means so much to me to make a mark like this in the shoe and sneaker industry and to have so many people share my love for the Creeper.”

Rihanna first teamed up with Puma in 2014 as creative director for the womenswear line, and the marriage paved the way for a collaboration under her own name Fenty x Puma. (The first partnership ended in 2018.)

A year later, Rihanna inked a deal with LVMH to start her own luxury fashion line, but that was put on hold in 2021.

Meanwhile, her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin collections, as well as the lingerie line, Fenty X Savage, have continued to rack up strong sales.

The superstar has been a shoe trendsetter for decades: She collaborated with Manolo Blahnik, helped catapult Amina Muaddi to fashion fame and continues to surprise her fans with her style picks, including the MM6 Maison Margiela X Salomon trainers she wore at the Super Bowl last month.

The brand announced in a Wednesday Instagram post that it will will open six new retail locations in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Detroit, St. Louis, and Newark, Delaware.

“Y’all were so good to us during our #SavageXIRL debut, we just had to Xtend the Xperience,” the brand wrote in a caption.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SAVAGE X FENTY BY RIHANNA (@savagexfenty)

The. news comes after Rihanna announced of the rollout of the first five Savage X Fenty physical stores across the U.S. in January, set to open in five cities throughout 2022. FN has reached out to Savage X Fenty for comment.

In a late September interview with Bloomberg, Savage X Fenty’s chief marketing and design officer, Christiane Pendarvis, said that the $1 billion brand would open its own stores in 2022 throughout the U.S., with plans to open up stores in Europe in the future.

The shoe designer responded to the rumor on Instagram Stories on Friday, writing, “I’ve always believed that an unfounded lie spread on social media doesn’t deserve any response or clarification, especially one that is so vile. I initially assumed that this fake gossip — fabricated with such malicious intent — would not be taken seriously. However in the last 24 [hours] I’ve been reminded that we live in a society that is so quick to speak on topics regardless of factual basis and nothing is off limits.”

She said she felt the need to speak up given this rumor was not only directed toward her but to two people she has “great amount of respect and affection for.”

See her full response below:

Muaddi and Rihanna joined forces in 2020 for a shoe collaboration with Rihanna’s Fenty brand. The blockbuster partnership was honored as Collaborator of the Year at the 2020 FN Achievement Awards. Also in 2020, Muaddi teamed up with A$AP Rocky‘s creative collective, AWGE, on a collection.

In January, Rihanna announced with that she was expecting her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky. The Bad Gal set social media timelines and headlines ablaze after new photos showed off her growing belly.