June Ambrose Celebrates Puma's 75-Year History at NYFW

When it comes to streetwear, athleisure, workout gear, etc., there's so much emphasis on the new. New brands, new styles, new technology—always looking for what's bigger and better. But fashion designer June Ambrose has an eye for the past that celebrates legacy while still embracing the future.

To celebrate Puma's 75th anniversary, Ambrose was asked to create the brand's Spring/Summer 2023 runway show using archival pieces from past collaborations with designers and brands like Dapper Dan, Koche, Palomo Spain, and more, as well as historic collections like Luxe Sport, Puma Tech, among others, as inspiration for her work. While digging through the archives in Germany, Ambrose's trip down memory lane was a visual history of the brand's connection to streetwear and street culture.

"Going through the archives in Germany was really fun. I found so many retro, high-end partnerships that I feel like people forgot about. There were a lot of street culture silhouettes that inspired the pieces I created. I love playing with scale so the exaggerated hats and other pieces are also plugged into the show," she explained.

Ambrose created over 40 custom pieces for the show inspired by these past collections, as a way to honor Puma's heritage, as well as the legacy of the designers whose work also marked these designs. "I leaned into iconic sign-offs, like the Puma cat, but reimagined the classic silhouettes. There’s a throughline of familiarity but you’ll leave the show like it’s the first time you’ve seen these shapes and styles. I took some of the staple and nostalgic Puma pieces and made them runway."

While the show was certainly an homage to her predecessors, Ambrose's own co-branded collection with Puma, titled Keeping Score, also hit the runway, weaving the future of Puma—and street culture, in general—in with the tastemakers of the past. Said Ambrose, "I’m excited to debut [my collection] in my city at NYFW. I think it’s really special and I took this opportunity to pay homage to myself as well."

Keeping Score embraces the power of women, physically, mentally, emotionally, and, most important, collectively. As a sports fan and the Creative Director of Women's Basketball at Puma, Ambrose's take on femininity through a sports lens manifests itself in a powerful collection of pieces that are both visually and functionally empowering to the consumer. Embracing color, fit, and ability, Ambrose created a collection that, generations from now, designers visiting the archives in Germany will remember as a critical moment in Puma's history.