PUMA’s History of Innovation in Style, Basketball and Beyond
How a falling out between brothers birthed one of the world’s most iconic sportswear brands.
The story of PUMA begins with Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik, a sibling-owned business founded by Adolf and Rudolf Dasler in 1924 near Herzogenaurach, Germany. The Dassler brothers’ earliest products were handmade track-and-field spikes, the likes of which were famously worn by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, an event that saw Owens win four gold medals and bring international renown to the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik.
The brothers experienced a falling out during World War II and in 1948 the two famously parted ways. Adolf started his own company, combining his nickname, “Adi,” with the first three letters of his last name, “Das,” to establish adidas. Rudolf’s company used a similar approach, launching "Ruda," a portmanteau of "Ru" from Rudolf and "Da" from Dassler. A few months later, Rudolf changed his company’s name to Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler.
Well connected from his days at the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik, Rudolf supplied football boots for the very first international football match following the war in 1948, when several members of the West German national football team wore PUMA boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski. In 1952, PUMA created the SUPER ATOM, the world’s first boot with screw-in studs, an innovation that remains standard among professional football boots today. Toward the end of the decade, PUMA patented the Formstrip, a logo and design feature that is as recognizable as the brand’s leaping cat insignia.
PUMA on the World Stage
Focused primarily on football boots for the first 20 years, the brand introduced a warmup shoe called the PUMA Crack in 1968. At that year’s Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the shoe played a starring role in a powerful gesture that shook the sporting world: Tommie Smith and John Carlos, winners of the 200-meter gold and bronze medals respectively, took to the podium at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City, unlaced their PUMA Cracks, bowed their heads, and raised their gloved fists in the sky during the national anthem, as a signal of solidarity with Black Americans. Although the pair faced repercussions, including a ban from the Games, in that moment Smith and Carlos made their PUMA Cracks an object of rebellion and an artifact of social justice.
Just two years later, Pelé’s stunt at the 1970 World Cup put even more eyes on PUMA. At the opening whistle of the final match between Brazil and Italy, Pelé stopped the referee and knelt down to tie his PUMA Kings, giving the entire world a closeup of the Big Cat.
The brand’s immersion into professional sports continued into the early 1970s, when PUMA linked up with New York Knicks point guard, Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Frazier came to the table with specific demands for PUMA. He wanted a low-top silhouette made with suede instead of leather, his signature “Clyde” printed on every shoe and a new color variation for every NBA game he played in. (PUMA historian Helmut Fischer estimates Frazier wore around 390 unique color combinations over the course of his career.) Based on the Crack, the Clyde was born and with it a new era for PUMA.
Following Frazier’s retirement in 1980, his signature shoe (renamed the PUMA Suede in 1985) became a cultural icon, embraced by DJs, b-boys and b-girls, MCs, skateboarders and graffiti writers. The silhouette was uniquely suited to the era, celebrated for its diverse color options and fat laces, as well as its grippy outsole. The importance of the PUMA Suede (as well as PUMA apparel such as tracksuits and hoodies) was affirmed on the silver screen in 1984’s Beat Street, a film about hip-hop culture through the lens of an aspiring DJ from the South Bronx. Featuring cameos from many seminal figures including DJ Kool Herc, the film helped popularize hip-hop and b-boying around the world, linking PUMA with this burgeoning culture forever.
New Era, New Innovations
Towards the end of the ’80s into the early ’90s, PUMA entered a new and more technically savvy era of its history. This was a time of innovation in footwear design:. The Reebok PUMP. Nike Air. adidas Torsion. PUMA’s contribution to this period was the RS-Computer, a shoe with a rudimentary computer built in, which could track basic metrics such as distance covered or calories burned. PUMA followed this innovation with the geometrically designed cushioning system Trinomic in 1989 and the Disc in 1991. These technologies represented a new look and feel for PUMA, with maximalist silhouettes such as the Disc Blaze, R698 and Blaze of Glory utilizing these innovations and building on the simplicity of the Suede.
In 1998, PUMA teamed up with Jil Sander on an all-German collaboration, marking the very first partnership between a global sports brand and a high-fashion designer. Arriving a full 15 years before adidas and Raf Simons announced their landmark partnership, PUMA x Jil Sander was seen as an unexpected and even divisive choice in the late ’90s. Nonetheless, the cooperation with Sander introduced lifestyle versions of the King football boot and the Easy Rider running shoe.
PUMA’s relationship with the world of couture evolved once again in 2006 when the German brand announced a partnership with Alexander McQueen, planting the seed of luxury sportswear, a movement that has dominated the style world for over 15 years. The project went beyond collaboration and became something of a signature line for McQueen, who took a very personal approach to shoes. Indeed, “My Left Foot,” a technical and futuristic silhouette, was based on the English designer’s left foot.
While PUMA’s Jil Sander collaboration presented performance items with a luxury spin, the brand’s partnership with McQueen took the opposite approach, presenting athletic cues for a fashion-minded audience. To this day, PUMA’s collaboration with McQueen ranks among the brand’s most influential, setting the tone for high-fashion takes on performance footwear silhouettes for years to come.
The Collaboration Roster Grows
The years between 2010 and 2020 marked yet another turning point for PUMA, with creative partnerships kicked into high gear. In the first half of the decade, collaborations like the Sneaker Freaker x Blaze of Glory OG 'Shark Bait' and the Ronnie Fieg x Disc Blaze OG 'COA' introduced a new generation to PUMA’s sneaker legacy. The second half of the decade brought in even more brands, from Ader Error and BAPE to Rhude and The Hundreds, placing the RS-100, R698, Ralph Sampson and other PUMA silhouettes back in the spotlight.
In 2014, Barbadian superstar Rihanna joined the German brand as a creative director and collaborator. Co-created by Los Angeles designer Billy Walsh (better known as Mr. Completely), Rihanna’s Fenty PUMA Creeper reworked a ’60s mod staple into a coveted silhouette. The shoe exceeded all expectations, appearing in fashion week street style sets and dominating social media feeds, causing other brands to fast-track their own versions of platform sneakers.
In 2018, PUMA introduced a new product franchise with the Thunder Spectra, a sporty and overstated silhouette that spawned sister models, including the Thunder Electric and Thunder Nature. The brand applied a similar concept to its retro RS models, such as the RS-X and RS-X3, later reinvigorating the Rider family with the introduction of the Wild Rider and Future Rider.
PUMA Today
The same year the Thunder Spectra debuted, Jay-Z signed on as PUMA’s Creative Director of Basketball, laying the groundwork to reclaim the brand’s heritage on the hardwood. In 2020, PUMA followed up Jay’s appointment by announcing a partnership with NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball, releasing the MB.01, Ball’s first signature sneaker with the Big Cat. While PUMA’s reputation in basketball is firmly rooted in the legacy of the Clyde, LaMelo brings a different kind of energy—via his style on and off the court—ushering in a new chapter for PUMA Basketball.
Outside of basketball, PUMA has cemented its style presence in recent years through an eclectic array of partnerships. On the fashion side, the Big Cat linked up with French brands AMI and Maison Kitsuné, among others. In the pop culture space, cooperations with entertainment franchises such as Minecraft and Batman have yielded novel colorways. Continuing Rihanna’s legacy, PUMA and Dua Lipa joined forces on the Mayze Flutur, a ’90s-inspired platform model seemingly tailor-made for the TikTok generation.
Decades since Rudolf changed sporting technology with the introduction of screw-in studs, PUMA remains a beacon for innovation. And now, with all the pieces set up, there’s no doubt PUMA will remain an innovation powerhouse for decades to come.