PUMA has been home to many shoe collabs over the years, joining forces with giants such as The Hundreds and The Weeknd. In the wake of all this, you may have missed that our very own Bradley Theodore has produced multi-product collaborations with the brand.
Bradley Theodore has clearly paved an incredible path for himself as a world-renowned visual artist. Hailing from the Turks and Caicos Islands, the artist has been striving in the street-culture capital New York, where many of his achievements have stemmed from.
With a high-spirited street-style often adorned with skulls, Theodore is known for his murals of icons like Karl Lagerfield. His signature style has afforded him campaigns with a multitude of companies, such as Google and LEGO.
Bradley Theodore’s artistry came from a place of despondence, leading to his art style of blacking out canvasses and pulling pop of colours from the darkness. He has maintained this methodology even in the fashion collabs with the PUMA brand.
The Suede 50 Collab
Back in 2018, for PUMA’s 50th Anniversary, the German brand made the right choice at selecting Theodore for the Suede 50 collab. This project saw the classic Suede get an upgrade, with imagery accurately described as a “chromatic thunderstorms and a Dia de los Muertos style”.
Puma Suede x Bradley Theodore, including the tracksuit and t-shirt from the collection. Images via PUMA.com and Bradley Theodore.
In this collab, a full tracksuit and t-shirt were also embellished with similar artistry to the PUMA Suede. Theodore explained that while doing street art, bystanders would enquire about purchasing his extraneously custom painted clothing. Due to wiping his hands while painting, his clothes inadvertently became art pieces. This is what Theodore played on for the inspiration of the pieces made in this collection.
Theodore brought the ‘Thunder’
PUMA did not stop at the 2018 Bradley Theodore collab.
In January 2019, the pair joined forces again to release 23 customised pieces, consisting of sneakers, apparel and accessories. This collection included sneakers such as the PUMA Thunder, PUMA Basket Mid, PUMA Capri and the PUMA Clyde.
PUMA x Bradley Theodore campaign featuring a few collaborative pieces to date such as the PUMA Thunder Bradley Theodore and PUMA Capri Bradley Theodore. Images via Bradley Theodore.
Like the Suede, these shoes in their original state are signature styles to PUMA. However, Theodore brought his island flair and vibrant design to the shoes, owning its place in sneaker culture with the idiosyncratic design.
If we take a closer look at the PUMA Thunder x Bradley Theodore shoe, we can see the signature skull on the heel and hand-painted striking Pantone colours skilfully placed. Owning a pair of these essentially gives you access to a collectible art piece you can actually walk on.
PUMA Thunder x Bradley Theodore. Images via PUMA.com
Art will always be boundless
Theodore’s artistic ingeniousness is not static, and has been transposed to more than just the fashion world. In December 2020, Theodore announced his deal with David Beckham’s whiskey company Haig Club Clubman, where he lent eccentric designs to a limited selection of only 3000 bottles.
This is not his first collaboration in the alcohol industry, having previously worked with Moët et Chandon.
Theodore pictured with Haig Club Clubman Bradley Theodore Limited Edition Design Bottles. Images via Bradley Theodore.
If you do manage to get your hands on one of the PUMA collab pieces today, do try to tread lightly. As these pieces were released over 2 years ago, they are all sold out on PUMA’s site. However, you may be able to find various pieces from alternative vendors through scouring the internet.
To make things easier, we’ve made a list of places you can source various pieces from (while stocks last):
- StockX – PUMA Clyde Bradley Theodore
- Kicks Worldwide – PUMA THUNDER BRADLEY THEODORE
- ebay – PUMA Suede Classic x Bradley Theodore Sneakers Casual Sneakers
- ebay – PUMA Clyde x Bradley Theodore Black Leather Low Lace Up Men’s Trainers
- PUMA.com – PUMA x BRADLEY THEODORE Suede Classic Sneakers
All photos courtesy of Bradley Theodore and PUMA.com.
