PUMA AND STAPLE’S NEW COLLABORATION IS INSPIRED BY INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER GIDRA

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Herzogenaurach, Germany, March 23, 2023

The Collection Continues the Legacy of Pivotal Asian American Social Movements Including the Gidra Student Newspaper and Stop AAPI Hate

PUMA has teamed up with streetwear brand and longtime collaborator STAPLE, to introduce a collection of footwear and apparel inspired by Gidra, an Asian-American student-run newspaper created in response to anti-Asian sentiment in 1969.

Following up on the first installment in the collection from early March, a second delivery is forthcoming on March 31. Each piece in the collection reflects the intention and art style of the original publication’s design elements and references the King Terror Pack from PUMA’s archives.

The second drop will include three sneakers and an assortment of apparel including T-shirts, a hoodie, anorak jackets, and pants. Two PUMA Suedes, one rendered in yellow to portray the likeness of King Ghidorah and one in black and grey tones, will be included as well as a third Slipstream style in white, grey, and yellow. There will also be a friends-and-family Suede that features a peel-away upper, revealing clippings and illustrations pulled directly from the Gidra newspaper underneath.

“I’ve always loved how design is a blank canvas to tell the stories that matter the most,” says Jeff Staple. “Working with PUMA and Mike Murase of Gidra was a unique way to share this influential publication from the 1960s and connect it to the present-day movement to help Stop AAPI Hate. We’re stronger when we stand together.”

In addition to the collaboration, $20,000 has been donated to “Visual Communications Media,” a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization founded in 1970 with the mission to develop and support the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists who empower communities and challenge perspectives

Following up on drop one, drop two of the PUMA x Staple “Gidra” collection will be released on March 31st on PUMA.com, PUMA flagship stores, and select PUMA stockists, as well as on staplepigeon.com.

Notes to Editors:

In February 1969, a group of UCLA students created the highly influential publication; “Gidra: The Monthly of the Asian American Experience”. Created in response to anti-Asian sentiments at the university and in greater Los Angeles at the time, Gidra emerged as a leading voice of the Asian American movement. When conceptualizing this collection, the Gidra moment of the late 1960s stood out to STAPLE as a literal, and spiritual kin, of the desire to stand up against Asian hate in the present.