Puma has collaborated with African-American painter Kehinde Wiley to create a spring-summer 2010 apparel collection. The collection is based on seven graphics themes from Kehinde Wiley’s works which include shirts, leggings, jackets, tops, footwear and accessories with an African theme.
To create some buzz around its African lifestyle collection and the World Cup, earlier this month Puma announced that they will be organizing an exhibition with artist Kehinde Willey that will be in conjunction with the Football World Cup that will be held in June 2010 in South Africa.
New York based artist Kehinde Wiley whose work has been described with intensity and passion, has gained worldwide recognition for his unique style in which he paints hip hop artists such as LL Cool J and Notorious B.I.G, and contemporary urban African-Americans in poses taken from the annals of art history while combining urban style with typically african stagings drawn from traditional paintings.
Puma hopes that Africa, which will welcome its first Football World Cup event, will definitely get the attention it deserves. With Wiley’s love for using bold and vivid colors in his paintings, the footwear company can rest assured that the vision they both have for the collection and exhibition will bring them much needed publicity and give the world another look at the African continent.
To showcase Mr. Kehinde Wiley’s work and to celebrate this great collaboration, the exhibit, which will be based on Africa’s rich and vibrant culture, will be on display at the L’Espace de La Topographie de l’Art in Paris, France on February 4, 2010 to February 7, 2010.
Written by Roberte Varasse
