PUMA is one of the last brands I think of when it comes to making suits.
But now, alongside Brendon Babenzien’s NOAH, PUMA, a label that has existed solely in the worlds of sportswear and lifestyle, is entering the new and much more formal territory of luxury tailoring.
Marking the third instalment of PUMA’s ongoing NOAH collaboration, the new collection focuses predominantly on suiting. Well, more specifically, a $2,000 suit in the form of a NOAH x PUMA made-in-Italy blazer and trouser set inspired by the latter's T7, a tracksuit first released in 1967.
Babenzien’s NOAH drew on the T7’s relaxed and boxy appearance to serve up a two-piece that boasts a luxury 90 percent wool and 10 percent cashmere blend, custom Super PUMA jacquard lining in 100 percent viscose, and genuine horn buttons.
The cherry on the sartorial cake arrives by way of a custom PUMA lapel pin on one the jacket’s lapels, which themselves come a touch wider than is traditional.
Elsewhere in the collection, which lands on November 17, there’s a Jacquard Polo, an insulated Quilted Jacket made of a water-repellent nylon canvas, and made-in-Portugal Twill Pants, all elevated in NOAH’s unmistakably preppy way.
PUMA’s Suede Classic Velcro sneakers have also been given the NOAH treatment in two colorways, both of which feature Velcro closures with PUMA’s gold lettering, an archetypal perforated Formstrip, and NOAH’s cross logo embossed on the heel.
Indeed, sneakers are PUMA’s bread and butter, so of course it's their debut suit that's having its moment this season.
Sure, it's the first time PUMA's produced something even remotely red carpet-ready and sure, you'd forgive them for perhaps missing the mark. Thing is, when you’re in cahoots with someone as talented as NOAH's Brendon Babenzien, the end result was always going be a blinder. A $2,000 blinder, at that.
